This HTMl version was prepared from ASCII file http://www.ingber.com/karate76_book.txt which also can be accessed as ftp://ftp.ingber.com/karate76_book.txt
N.b.: This text was prepared by applying standard OCR software to scan
in the actual pages of
%A L. Ingber
%T The Karate Instructor's Handbook
%I Physical Studies Institute-Institute for the Study of Attention
%C Solana Beach, CA
%D 1976
I am permitted to do this since I own the copyright to this book.
I thank Rick Sorensen <RSorens@aol.com> for preparing many corrections to the first OCR version.
Illustrations, arrows marking directions, are missing, footnotes likely are out of place and not well correlated to the text, the two-column format confused the software at times in the appendix of combinations, etc. I have not taken much time to edit this file afterwards. I hope what remains will be a useful guide for some karate students and instructors.
A collection of notes and edited replies to postings and e-mail on karate is in http://www.ingber.com/karate.html ftp://ftp.ingber.com/karate.txt
The 134 combinations and 16 two-person combinations in Appendix 4 are representative of over 5000 combinations I created and taught from about 1969-1985. Unfortunately, the collection was lost in one of several moves.
The original ideas were first formally presented in
%A L. Ingber
%T Physics of karate techniques
%R Instructor's Thesis
%I Japan Karate Association
%C Tokyo, Japan
%D 1968
There are many useful parallels that can be drawn between the teaching
and practice of karate and the teaching and practice of other
disciplines. This was the core of an 8-year project I undertook,
funding, administrating and teaching in a complete alternative school.
Some of this methodology is described in karate81_attention.ps.gz (a
link to smni81_attention.ps.gz).
%A L. Ingber
%T Attention, physics and teaching
%J Journal Social Biological Structures
%V 4
%P 225-235
%D 1981
%O URL http://www.ingber.com/smni81_attention.ps.gz
Appendix 5 of my 1976 karate book contains 6 representative karate
problems along the lines of over 2000 problems created by myself and
other teachers, as described in karate81_attention.ps.gz. These too
were lost in one of several moves.
NOTE: I welcome offers to proof-read this file (and/or the file karate81_book.txt and/or karate85_book.txt) to correct many errors made by the scanning software.
Lester
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THE KARATE INSTRUCTOR'S HANDBOOK
by Lester Ingber, PhD
Copyright 1976/Institute for the Study of Attention, Inc./PO. Box W/ Solana Beach, California 92075
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the Institute for the Study of Attention.
Printed in the United States of America
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword by Don Edwards IV
Introduction v
Chapter 1 PHYSICS OF KARATE TECHNIQUES AND BODY ATTENTION 1-1
A. Forces and Body Concentration - Stance 1-2
B.Momentum and Directed Body Concentration -
Punching, Blocking, Kicking, Striking 1-7
C.Energy and Expanded Body Awareness -
Rhythm, Timing 1-32
Chapter 2 SENSORY NATURE 2-1
A. Sensory Attention 2-1
B. Timing = Focal-Synchro-Plenum 2-2
Chapter 3 SENSORY NATURE APPLIED TO KARATE 3-1
A. Attention Exercises - Body, Visual, Auditory 3-1
B. Sparring 3-4
C. Kata and Combinations 3-8
Appendix I NEUROLOGICAL REFERENCES APP 1-1
Appendix 2 KARATE TRAINING SCHEDULE APP 2-1
Appendix 3 FIRST KATA APP 3-1
Appendix 4 KARATE COMBINATIONS AND TWO-PERSON COMBINATIONS APP 4-1
Two-Person Combinations APP 4-17
Appendix 5 ISA KARATE PROBLEMS APP 5-1
Epilogue Table of Contents & Introduction to Principles of Nature,
sequel to The Karate Instructor's Handbook I
Index INDEX-1
INTRODUCTION
This text represents a 10-week basic course I have taught for several years. Beginners as well as black belts take this basic course continually to sharpen their mental and physical techniques. This book, which also explains the rationale behind the body and mind exercises, can even be used by a beginning karate student aided. by an instructor, as well as by instructors who strive to teach karate as a means of achieving a harmony of mind activity and body movement through detailed explanation and examples. Therefore, despite the fact the presentation is extremely technical and thorough, the book is written as if it were being presented to the beginner. I believe this makes the book even more valuable to the instructor.
The emphasis of this book is to teach karate as a means of studying the dynamics of body and mind as an end, a purpose, in itself. However, to become proficient and creative in any activity certainly demands specialized, disciplined practice in that activity. Therefore, if you want to practice karate for self-defense, for sport, or for form, your regular practice must be primarily oriented along that path. Then this book will be an important Supplement to your training, because the awareness and training of body and mind dynamics are essential to any use of karate.
Although this book uses the Shotokan style to illustrate karate techniques, it rapidly becomes apparent that the body and mental languages developed are extremely basic to all styles of martial arts, as well as to other physical disciplines and sports.
Once the processes behind the physical and mental activities are grasped in relation to specific techniques, a full spectrum of body and mind activity becomes available. For example, virtually all students after one month's practice can acquire the intuition and technique necessary to do the combinations given in Appendix 4. Often, new or unpolished techniques are "slipped in," and the student is left to his/her own devices to plunge through the combinations and learn the new techniques in the context of the exercise. Experience shows this is the best way to learn any language, including a body language.
This book and its sequel '1 are attempts to show that every subject or discipline - be it physical or cognitive activity, or interaction with other humans, or with inanimate nature can be broken down into Process plus Content, the information peculiar to the activity itself. Often the process is inferred from realizing both the content and the subject in its entirety. I have presented "existence proofs" in the form of supportive analyses to demonstrate that the Process is that of consciousness itself This need not distract or detract from the meaning and information inherent in these subjects and disciplines; indeed it serves to enhance them.
'1 Lester Ingber, Principles of Nature (to be published).
I do not agree with the thrust of our technological society that tends to strip us of our humanness, nor do I agree with most counter-culture forces that demand we abandon content for the sake of consciousness. Indeed, the purpose of this book is to illustrate by specific examples that content and consciousness can and should exist symbiotically. In this way both individuals and societies can best grow in their physical, cognitive, emotional, and spiritual interactions.
I wish to give special acknowledgments to some of the many people I have interacted with to complete this book. Lorry Kennedy did the karate illustrations using snapshots of me as a guide. Ann Elwood edited the first draft. I thank many of my karate students for much relevant advice throughout the many stages of preparation of this book.
>From 1970-1972 1 realized that for the previous twelve to fourteen years I had not functioned according to my own expectations as a student, as a teacher, and as a researcher both in various physics departments of academic universities '2 as well as in karate institutions.'3 I realized the fault lay not only within myself, but also within impersonal institutions, which did not seem to care about developing processes of consciousness to give meaning to content. Accordingly, I resigned from these institutions with the belief that I could do more for myself and others in an institution, the Institute for the Study of Attention, Inc. (ISA),'4 which was better designed to help society and its individuals. I feel that I have been proven right. I am indebted to all the past and present students and staff of ISA for providing me with continual inspiration and feedback on the major ideas presented in this book.
Lester Ingber
'2 California Institute of Technology; University of California at San Diego, Berkeley, and Los Angeles; State University of New York at Stony Brook.
'3 Japan Karate Association and the All-America Karate Federation.
'4 ISA was established on October 28, 1970 as a nonprofit scientific and educational California corporation to research attention and to apply findings to improve our educational and social institutions. Some of ISA's activities involve research as reported in this book, and an alternative school offering a rich program of small classes in academics, fine arts, and physical disciplines to students over 12 years of age interested in discovering and applying their creative processes. The research at ISA includes the formulation of models of sensory, cognitive, human, and inanimate natures, stressing their common underlying processes.
CHAPTER 1
Physics of Karate Techniques and Body Attention
This book is both a training manual and a study of how consciousness operates in physical disciplines, specifically karate. It will show the professional as well as the amateur how to develop methods within any activity to study specific processes of attention, instead of leaving it to chance to acquire this mental training.
Both physical and mental disciplines can be usefully dissected into Process (consciousness) and Content (meaning and information):
Activity = Content + Process (I- 1)
Karate is a martial art with body and mental languages basic to all styles of martial arts as well as to other physical disciplines and sports. It lends itself extremely well to a study of consciousness mainly because it is relatively easy to separate the dynamics of its body language (content) from the dynamics of the mind (process): If an activity is well understood - typically by the method of total immersion and if the content likewise is understood to an extreme degree of precision - extremely focused techniques, for example - attention processes may easily be inferred, as the above equation implies. In standard karate training, the content, or the physical technique, is acquired largely through basic practice and is geared to the performance of accurate, sharp, and precise total body movements as an end in itself. In most competitive sports, including sport karate, it is possible to achieve success in the activity without understanding the content or the process precisely, mainly because the object is to win against a human opponent rather than to develop a more "perfect" body language. However without precise understanding of the physical content, it becomes more difficult to infer the mental process by virtue of doing the activity. Only by clearly understanding the mental process can applications and training be purposely made to other disciplines and to life itself.
A complete course in karate is presented in this book. It is ideally to be used as an Instructor's handbook, to supplement the interests, and energy, and previous training of a dedicated Instructor. In the absence of an Instructor, if you try to learn from this book, do so with full commitment. Like all disciplines, physical or cognitive, karate requires dedication, and you will learn only a little by trying in a superficial way:
i hear, and i forget
i see, and i remember
i do, and i understand
Chinese proverb
"To know something is not merely to be told it or to act upon it, but to modify and transform it and to understand the process, and consequences, of the transformation." Charles E. Silberman, Crisis in the Classroom, New York, Vintage Books, 1970.
It is usually very difficult in any discipline to separate content from process. However, the question often arises: in any physical discipline, what can be explained in terms of the body, and where exactly does the mind enter into the picture?
If the processes by which the content, or body movements, are synchronized with the attention processes are not understood, then people are tempted to attribute great powers to those who are physically skilled, when in truth their movements, magical as they may seem, can just as well be explained in terms of simple physical principles.'1 After isolating these principles - e.g., forces, energy, momentum - and using them to explain body movement, it is then much easier to explain and appreciate how they synchronize with the mental processes, to be discussed later in the next two chapters.
'1 For example, in karate and aikido, both Oriental martial arts, some practitioners claim to feel a great supernatural power from the magic known as ki, or life force. Insofar as this power comes from explainable changes which create momentum and energy, the idea is false metaphysics. (That is not to say that there is not some acquired mental correlate which makes the learning of the body skill more efficient.)
Physical disciplines have languages made up of movements which can be put together much like the vocabulary of languages to communicate meaning. Many of the basic movements are common to most, or all, physical disciplines - stance, for instance, is of extreme importance in any sport. The techniques of karate in this chapter, the body language, are outlined in terms of natural physical dynamics. This structure will help you not only to analyze general body motion but also to develop your body into a finely honed tool to further explore concentration and awareness.
The Karate described in this book is Shotokan style. To it, I have added some ideas of my own, which come from my involvement in physics and my studies of consciousness. However, all physical concepts are discussed here independent of style, discipline, instructor, or guru. The physical and mental processes taught here are essential to learn karate for any reason, for development of consciousness, for self-defense, or for sport karate. The instruction is presented to enable you to learn most efficiently how to perform the techniques and movements. Use the Training Schedule in Appendix 2 to make the best use of this structure.
Training is usually comprised of learning and practicing the following:
1.Individual techniques - e.g., punches, strikes, kicks, and blocks.
2.Defense-attack sequences, sparring with an opponent.
3.Combinations of eight to ten techniques, sparring with your imagination.
4.Kata - ancient stylized forms, or combinations. In Shotokan style,'2 there is one form practiced for each of the kyu levels (usually 2 white belts, 3 green belts, 3 brown belts), and there are approximately 15 basic advanced forms that black belts choose from. The first kata is given in Appendix 3.
'2 These katas are described in Gichin Funakishi, Karate-Do-Kyo-han, Tokyo Kodansha International Ltd., 1973.
When practicing karate, it is very important to use big full motions so that the body can first learn correct power methods (muscular coordination and proper tensions) which later can be applied to shorter motions. Try to keep your eyes always on and all over your opponent real or imaginary; this causes a slight defocusing of vision.
Remember that you are learning karate to study consciousness, not to annihilate attackers. All techniques, especially sparring, should be performed to provide feedback on consciousness states, not to hurt your opponent or yourself; broken bones inhibit correct training!
A. Forces and Body Concentration
Karate techniques are designed to deliver large impact forces to their targets; to attain such forces, the attacking body must possess great momentum. The usual way to attain such momentum is to apply a force to a large mass and quickly accelerate it to an extremely high velocity; momentum is defined as this mass multiplied by its velocity. The force required is approximately equal to the final momentum available, inversely weighted by the overall time interval. When this force is applied to a small target area, tremendous pressure force divided by target area - capable of producing shock and sometimes breakage is created.
At first glance, it may seem that the human body is not well designed to accomplish this feat - that the attainment of large mass and the attainment of great speed are mutually exclusive: On one hand, large masses can be created by tensing and connecting the heavy parts of the body, making it a rigid extension of the floor; but in this state the body is too stiff to produce any speed. On the other hand, great speeds may be attained by the arm or leg when propelled from the supported torso and stance, much as a stone is shot from a sling; however, this fast-moving limb does not have a large mass on impact. To achieve both mass and speed, the arm or leg which has been shot from the torso and stance can be tensed just before impact and reconnected to the torso and thus to the large mass of the lower body which is connected to the ground by the stance leg(s). However, while this technique attaches a large mass to the limb, it eventually slows the limb down. There is a compromise which assures that maximum momentum (mass x velocity) is available upon impact with target. Depending on the target and the strategy, various proportions of mass and velocity may be selected to contribute to produce large momentum.'3 This is the essence of "focus."
'3 The small time interval perceived during impact gives the karate a finely tuned probe into his/her own states of consciousness. These techniques, controlled by the somatic sensory and motor centers of the brain, may be most accurately expressed in terms of simple physical principles. I examined parameters of focus in 1969 with the aid of an accelerometer attached to a target. An oscilloscope read out the acceleration of the target as a function of the time passing during impact. (I called the set-up an Impactometer.) The data seemed to correlate with reality, and when I went to the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1970, two undergraduates worked with the Impactometer as a class project. Unfortunately, near the end of the term there was a student strike reflecting disgust with the invasion of Cambodia by the United States military. I left soon afterwards and all that remains of the Impactometer study is a neatly written, but incomplete report. The information will eventually be of use to others who want to build equipment to measure impacts in various physical activities, If the parameters of force - mass, velocity, duration of impact - are separated, then separate training methods as discussed in this chapter can be used to strengthen the weaknesses of average practitioners as well as accomplished athletes. Of course, such application of the ideas to help an individual requires the intuition and guidance of a creative instructor.
The source of power needed to generate techniques in karate can be
traced to proper use of the legs in a stance. Stance is the term used
to describe the legs when they are in tension and connected to each
other by the continuation of this tension through the center of the
body. The two basic types of stance are outside-tension stance and
inside-tension stance. Figure 1A shows the direction of tension in the
side-stance, an outside-tension stance; Figure 1B shows
hour-glass-stance, an inside-tension stance. (See Appendix 5 for an ISA
problem comparing a karate stance with a t'ai chi stance.)
[Figure 1A-B]
As you will examine in detail, the stance provides the forces and torques to move the torso, which in turn spins off the arms and legs. (A torque, which is produced by two or more forces acting in opposite directions at each end of a lever, is necessary to rotate the body about a given point in space. In contrast, only a single force is necessary to cause the motion of the body along a given straight line in space.) The forces from the stance are therefore important to accelerate the limbs. Upon impact from a blow, the stance also provides rigid support to help establish a large grounded mass behind the technique.
The proper stance is also necessary to acquire a smooth quick start for most techniques. Rather than first pushing against the ground with your back leg and using the resulting reaction force from the floor to push forward (just like walking) you can release the front leg of the stance, thus allowing the back leg which is already driving forward to push the body directly and smoothly. This use of stance will be discussed in detail in the section on punching.
Exercise 1
FRONT STANCE. The general outline of any stance can be analyzed using
three basic concepts: balance, power, and mobility. Maximum balance is
obtained when the center of gravity is low. However, if a stance is too
low, it is extremely difficult to use the inside thigh muscles to move
the body, and power and mobility are lost. To take the proper long
distance for the front-stance, begin by placing your left foot about
two and one half shoulder-widths ahead of your right foot.'4 Figure 2A
is too short, Figure 2B is just a little too long, and Figure 2C is
about the right distance between the heels.
[Figure 2A
Figure 2B-C]
'4 All stances should also be practiced in mirror image e.g., with right foot forward.
To determine the width of the front-stance, along a line perpendicular
to the one in which you are facing, consider balance: Too narrow a
stance makes it difficult to maintain balance, and too wide a stance is
not stable against recoil upon impact. A good estimate of the proper
distance is one shoulder-width between your feet. Figure 3A is too
wide, Figure 3B is too narrow, and Figure 3C is about the right width.
[Figure 3A-B
Figure 3C]
To best direct power from your back leg, turn your right ankle in towards center as much as possible (30 to 45 degrees), but still keep the entire sole touching the floor. The side edge of your front (left) ankle should be parallel to the line of motion - toes turned slightly in. If your ankle is turned in too much, mobility is lost; if it is turned out too much, your leg muscles are stretched out and cannot develop maximum power.
Your left knee should be positioned directly over your large toe. If
your knee is not bent enough, the reaction force from a simple punch
will push your hips back. If your knee is bent too much, the sharp
angle will become a weak point, because tensing the outside muscles of
a sharply bent limb produces a weak corner. (Consider building a bridge
shaped like a "VI, or an "A"!) If your knee is bent correctly, muscles
can be tensed to construct a smooth arch of tension on the inside of
your legs (Figure 4): Forces travel faster in a medium with strong
elastic forces between its building blocks; therefore the forces from
the stance will travel more efficiently through the strong arch of the
inside of the knee rather than travel across the top of the (relatively
more) relaxed musculature of the top of the knee.
[Figure 4]
The principle of providing smooth arches of tensed muscle to direct the
flow of forces is utilized over the entire body. Many disciplines,
notably Aikido, stress the principle of smooth arches of tension as a
necessary component towards developing a proper flow of Ki (life-force)
through the body and into the target or environment. Figure 5
illustrates the form of a counter-punch. More important than the outer
appearance of the form are inner tensions under the arm across the
abdominals, and across the insides of the thighs to produce an unbroken
connection of smooth arches.
[Figure 5]
BREATHING, HIP FEELING, NATURAL STANCE, KIAI. Breathing and proper hip feeling are so fundamental to all techniques that the following exercise should be done as part of the beginning warm-up of each session for at least the first couple of weeks. Your hip center must be properly tensed to transmit the forces and tensions between the legs, through the torso, and out to the external limbs. The iliopsoas (short double muscle high on the thigh and hip), internal oblique (middle layer of abdominal muscle on the sides), transversus abdominal (innermost layer of abdominal region), and sartorius (long narrow muscle connected to the spine that winds downward and inward across the thigh,) muscles must be tensed from the inside of the hip so that the inside thigh muscles can bridge forces through the hip center to the torso.
Exercise 2
Stand in natural stance, your feet about a shoulder-width apart, body relaxed. To avoid tensing to form just a shell of hard muscle, put one hand on your rectus abdominis (outermost layer of abdominal muscle that runs from the pubis to the ribs) and the other on your gluteus maximus (buttocks) and tuck up the lower trunk by flexing the iliopsoas, keeping the outside layers of muscle rather relaxed; this movement necessitates the tensing of the inner muscles and pushes up the diaphragm, expelling air. Slowly tense the most inner muscles you can feel, starting at a point projected midway along a line between your navel and your tailbone, then gradually allow this compression to expand radially outwards until the outer rectus abdominus and gluteus maximus muscles are also tensed. As you tense, the diaphragm is slowly pushed up expelling air; when you release, the diaphragm lowers and air is automatically taken in. At the peak compression you should notice a solid feeling of connection across the legs and through the torso.
Now do the same exercise at a faster tempo until the air is forcefully expelled as the hips quickly tense. Simultaneously tense the ribs to effect "high" rapid breathing. This rapid expulsion of air together with the associated noise that usually accompanies this movement is called a Kiai (life-breath). The kiai is not practiced to frighten unworthy opponents! It is used to aid the body to focus energy, much the same as a grunt enables you to lift a heavy weight.
Hold the hands overhead and continue the radial compression described above to include the back, sides, neck, legs, arms, feet and fists; make the fist by folding all the knuckles into a ball, capped by the thumb placed under the first two fingers, and keeping a straight line from the elbow through the lowest knuckle of the second finger. A fist, in karate terminology, is this complete body feeling centered in the hip!
Exercise 3
SIDE-STANCE. The front-stance is easiest for beginners to learn because it faces forward and because the back leg directly pushes the hip forward via the reaction force from the ground; this is a familiar feeling when walking or running. The side-stance is somewhat more subtle.
The feet are as far apart in the side-stance as they are in the
front-stance. The tension across the legs and hips allows the body to
deliver power to either side. In the side-stance, the knee and lower
leg (actually the smooth curve inside and across the knee) push out,
and the floor pushes back (Figure 6). When doing side-stance, be sure
to keep the outsides of the feet parallel and the hips tucked in. An
outward circular tension exerted around each thigh will keep the back
and inside of each leg tense.
[Figure 6]
Exercise 4
BACK-STANCE. The back-stance is half side-stance and half front-stance.
Your back leg is used somewhat as in side-stance, though it is bent even
more. Your front foot is twisted out at an angle so that its outside
edge is parallel to the line between your heels. The knee of the front
leg is only slightly bent; any locked joint prevents an even tension
from flowing across it. Except for the opposite direction of the
ankle, the front leg of the back-stance resembles the back leg of the
front-stance in its direct method of pushing into the floor (Figure 7).
The heels are along the same line to prevent the production of torques
on the hip that would break balance.
[Figure 7]
Figure 8 stresses the imbalance caused by not tucking in the hips.
[Figure 8]
ASIDE ON STANCE. For completeness, the other stances are briefly described. The practice of these techniques, utilizing the above principles, will be done within the context of the Combinations in Appendix 4.
The angled-side-stance is realized by placing the feet in side-stance at an angle of 30-45 degrees to the direction you are facing. This stance is capable of making and focusing power in all directions, although it is not as strong to the front as front-stance, or as strong to the side as side-stance. A smooth band of tension circling the legs should be realized.
The half-moon-stance is the inside-tension analogue of the outside-tension angled-side-stance. Take the distance between the legs the same as angled-side-stance. The back ankle is turned in almost forward, and each knee is pulled towards the inside of the opposite ankle. More correctly, smooth curves of tension pull towards each other, from the soles of the feet up to the imaginary extensions of the legs meeting at the solar plexus. Be sure the hips are tucked under to lock these two tensions together.
When sparring at close distances, often the feet must be close together. At distances between the legs approaching a shoulder's width, the angle between the thighs in front-stance becomes too small to produce an effective horizontal component of force to push against the ground to derive strong body power. The hour-glass-stance (Figure 1B), an inside-tension-stance, solves this problem. This stance is essentially the same as the half-moon-stance, except that the large toe of the back leg is on a line that passes under the center of the body and through the heel of the front leg. The relevant angle for making power is roughly measured by intersecting lines along the lower legs that pass through the knees; this angle is much steeper than the angle between the thighs in a front-stance with the same foot to foot distance.
Similarly, the cat-stance is the inside-tension analogue of the close-distance outside-tension back-stance. It is produced by pulling the front leg of the hour-glass-stance over until the heel is just in front of the big toe of the back leg; the front heel is raised and the thighs are pinched, crossing the front knee over the back knee. As in all the inside-tension stances, the tensions in the legs should be extended up to the solar plexus.
When kneeling, or on one knee, the stance principles remain the same. The concept of stance can even be applied when lying on the floor. Then (preferably) both hands grabbing the floor and one thigh can be used much the same as two legs to produce power across the hips to execute a kick with the other leg.
The before-stance is the stance used to initiate the body dynamics. This may be applied from any natural position just as the technique begins. The after-stance is the stance used to put mass into the focus of the technique. This latter stance need not always be present if you already possess a large momentum directed towards your target. Only if this principle is correctly applied is there a rationale for flying-kicks and strike-snap hand techniques from somewhat weak stances, both to be practiced in the context of the Combinations in Appendix 4.
CENTERED SOMATIC (BODY) CONCENTRATION. The practice of stance provides a direct method of developing a sense of "center" - a most important ingredient of any body discipline or meditation which can easily be generalized to all of life. In the outside-tension stances, the point in the hip to which the opposing forces through the legs meet defines the term "hip center," or "body center" used in this book. This point and its associated somatic '5 (meaning body) feeling enables the chartist to maintain and utilize control over his/her own body. As will be explained more precisely in the next section, this self-control is essential to controlling an opponent(s) and the external environment.
'5 In the somatic system, there are three subsystems: (1) the interceptive nervous system going to the viscera; (2) the proprioceptive system going to the skeletal frame; (3) the exteroceptive system pointing to the outside world.
B. Momentum and Directed Body Concentration
Exercise 5
You can test the tensions in the legs with the help of an opponent. Both take a front-stance, left leg forward, opposing each other at a distance such that your outstretched palms, with elbows locked, barely touch each other. One side pushes as the other side continually offers some resistance. You start first as the pusher: Stand with the correct opposing tensions in your legs, then suddenly pull in your front leg so that it no longer opposes your back leg; your back leg is now pushing, and your front leg is pulling. Your opponent is gradually driven back as your front leg continues to pull until your legs cross. Then the left leg becomes the new back leg, pushing away from the body, continuously driving you forward and the resisting opponent backwards. After one full step is completed, relax your arms, and stop your forward motion by pushing your front leg into the floor setting up opposition to the back leg. You are in a new front-stance. Now repeat the exercise.
Exercise 6
A similar exercise is done by holding your opponent's wrist, then stepping back, pulling your opponent with you. Keep the hips tucked in, and be sure to start by driving the front knee forward to drive your body back. Similar precautions regarding the hips and knee pressure should be kept in mind when doing other exercises with side-stance, back-stance, and the inside-tension stances.
Until this point, we have considered the forces at work in stances as static forces - that is, attempted pushing and pulling of immovable objects. Once you understand this body feeling, you can apply it to produce dynamic forces that accelerate the body, arms, and legs.
BODY VIBRATION. The first mode of dynamic power to look at is the production of vibrations in the torso.
Exercise 7
This method is illustrated by punching from side-stance. The tension
across the legs in the side-stance is similar to that in a taut guitar
string. One hand (pulling hand) pulls back, "plucking" on this tension
to produce a body vibration. Once the large muscles of the body are
moving together, it is easy to use them to throw the other hand
(punching) off the hip to the target. Instead of using vibration energy
to produce sound, as in the case of the guitar, the hip energy is
directed into building the momentum of the punching arm. Figure 9
attempts to illustrate this; the dotted lines show the position of the
body a split-second before the first vibration.
[Figure 9]
We now make a digression from body dynamics to discuss punching in more detail, so that you will immediately have at your disposal one full technique using torso, arms, and legs. Practicing this technique will enable you to study the more subtle aspects of karate.
Exercise 8
PUNCHING. The trajectory of the punch must allow the arm to be most receptive to the transfer of power from the body. Place your right fist, palm up, at the soft spot between the bottom of the rib-cage and the top of the hip bone. This position keeps the biceps muscles relaxed and the elbow close to the hip. Hold your left arm straight out in front of you so that your fist is level with your solar plexus. Then move your right fist forward while pulling your left fist back to its hip position. As the punching elbow clears the hip, a little resistance can be felt from the arm muscles, so it is most natural to allow the forearm to twist, giving a shearing motion to the punch. Throughout the punch, minimize tension on the outside of the arm and over the shoulder to maintain a smooth arch under the arm - tensing the serratus anterior muscles to transfer the forces. Again, it is important in all movements to synchronize physical moving and breathing. Proper coordination between hundreds of muscles is best learned by synchronizing them with the beginning and end of a breath.
PULLING HAND. The pulling hand aids the punching by setting up the
correct reaction forces to initiate the body dynamics. If you imagine a
pole placed horizontally across the torso, you can easily visualize how
the pulling hand sets the body in motion to throw off the punching
hand. A force on one end of a pole causes a rotation about the center
of the pole.
[Figure 10]
We can now return to hip dynamics and the use of new power methods to drive the punch.
SHIFTING. Recall that the first mode of dynamic power comes from achieving body vibration. The second mode of dynamic power comes from shifting - moving the hip-center to the front, to the back, or to either side. One example, Exercise 9, explains this method.
Exercise 9
Step from front-stance (left leg forward) one full step ahead to a new
front-stance according to the following sequence: Opposing forces
should already exist between. your legs (Figure 11A). Your front leg,
which now controls the entire motion, changes its direction of force
from pushing away from the body to pulling with the inside and back
thigh muscles. The effect of this movement on shifting is twofold.
Releasing the outward force allows the pushing force from the back leg
to drive the body forward; in addition, this motion of the body is
aided by the pulling scissor motion of the front pulling leg
(Figures 11B & 11C).
As your legs cross and the direction of force again
changes, your left leg now becomes the back leg for the next
front-stance (Figure 11E). The left leg now pushes away from the body,
driving it continuously forward, until the right leg brakes the forward
motion by coming to rest (Figure 11E). This exercise and the next
exercise (Exercise 10) are quite similar to Exercise 5. Exercise 5
required a steady push against a receding opponent, while this exercise
and Exercise 10 require a similar body feeling to accelerate the body
continually through a full step.
[Figure 11A-B
Figure 11C-E]
Exercise 10
STEP-IN-PUNCH. The punch may be coordinated with the body motion of shifting. Begin in front-stance, left leg forward, right fist on hip, left fist forward. Then step in to a new front-stance while punching. The proper technique requires that the arm and body achieve maximum momentum (momentum = mass x velocity) together upon impact. Ideally, your punch should begin when your legs start to move, every body part should smoothly accelerate and reach a maximum focus at the instant you are achieving a new front stance. At first, you will probably not be able to move your legs quickly enough to allow the punch to begin until after your legs have crossed, but with practice, the punch may be started sooner and sooner as the leg movements become more coordinated. Your pulling hand may help the start by creating the desired reaction force in the hip. Use the punch as a self-competitive device to drive yourself to move faster by beginning the punch sooner than you might think possible and yet try to have the arms and legs coordinate to achieve focus together. You might move faster than you thought you could!
Exercise 11
The feeling in the body during these accelerated motions (of the arm
with respect to the body and of the body with respect to the ground) is
similar to that in Exercise 5 or that felt when pushing against a wall
while in front-stance (Figure 12). The force flowing from the back leg
through the hip and arm is
met by an equal and opposite reaction force exerted by the wall. Upon
releasing the arms, a reaction force from the
front leg is required to prevent any forward motion. Release your front
leg to direct a flow of force continually from your back leg through
your arms, then release your arms to direct a flow of force through the
front leg, and keep rapidly alternating this flow of force.
[Figure 12A-B]
When accelerating an arm or a leg, similar forces are necessary to overcome the inertial mass. Although the forces have different purposes in static and in dynamic situations, the feeling in the muscles is essentially the same. For example, when doing a step-in-punch, the body should propel the arm and legs with much the same continuous driving feeling as experienced when pushing against the wall. The dynamic reaction forces exerted on the body by the propelled punch are countered by the force exerted by the legs on the body in the opposite direction. Thus the forces necessary to step-in-punch are ultimately dependent on the proper dynamic use of stance for both the arm and body motions.
LINEAR SOMATIC (BODY) CONCENTRATION. Doing big powerful techniques along a line provides a direct method of developing a sense of directing attention smoothly and continuously. In this way the body-centered concentration developed from stance training can be simply and usefully channeled, permitting direct control of an opponent(s) and the external environment.
Exercise 12
ROTATION. Another movement that takes advantage of dynamic forces is hip rotation. A more complete discussion of the dynamics of rotation will be postponed until striking techniques. We discuss the counter-punch and blocking techniques before thrust kicking because experience has shown that this is a more efficient learning sequence, allowing an earlier introduction to basic sparring. (See the Training Schedule in Appendix 2.)
COUNTER-PUNCH. In addition to hip vibration and shifting, the
front-stance can be used to deliver a counter-punch (a 12A punch from
the same side as the back leg). Retaining the tension across the knees,
start in front-stance with right fist on hip, left fist forward. Using
circular forces around each leg, turn the hip about its center (Figure
13). Be careful not to break the primary tension across the knees. The
pulling hand helps initiate this technique by pulling back on the hip,
jolting the large torso muscles and helping them to coordinate the
rotation used to throw off the punching hand.
[Figure 13A-B]
The punching trajectory is the same as described before; the pulling-hand helps the hip to rotate. While only one point of contact with the ground is necessary to move the body in a straight line, it is necessary to have two points of contact to perform a rotation in order that equal and opposite forces can be applied to turn the body about its center. The punch is focused with the body posture of Figure 5.
Exercise 13
The necessity of having two points of contact can be appreciated by having someone press against your fist as you prepare to counter-punch. You have to use both legs in the stance to rotate the hip to cause the desired punching motion.
ASIDE ON PUNCHING. For completeness, the other punches are briefly described. The practice of these techniques will be done within the context of the Combinations in Appendix 4.
When the target is closer to the body than the fully extended arm, the punch is simply focused in the same position it would have on the trajectory of the fully extended punch. When the elbow stops about two fists past the hip, the vertical-punch is performed with the fist in a vertical position, thumb-side pointing up. When the elbow stops next to the hip, the close-punch is performed with the palm-side of the fist facing up; the wrist turns outwards on focus to help lock the punch to the body. Admittedly a poor choice of nomenclature, the short-punch, sometimes called the reverse-rotation-punch, is actually a fully extended punch done with the arm on the same side as the front leg; the "short" title refers to the lesser body power obtained than from the counter-punch. The u-punch is a simultaneous punch to the face and close-punch to the solar plexus, sometimes the spine bends and the head also attacks like the middle prong of a trident. The double-punch is composed of two simultaneous punches.
The rising-punch begins as a punch to the solar plexus level, but just before focus it swings up to attack the face level, usually just under the chin with the top of the knuckles. As with all karate techniques, the body is responsible for this technique's trajectory; the hip-center first tenses vertically, squeezing the punch upwards, then completes its spherical compression on focus at face level.
The round-punch takes a curved trajectory towards the target. This is aided by twisting the punching forearm sooner than in the regular punch. The hook-punch takes a bent (90 degrees) trajectory towards the target. Just as the elbow clears the hip, the forearm turns across the body, parallel to the chest. It is especially important when doing these two punches to maintain a strong tension under the arm-body connection, and to minimize tension along the outside of the arm-shoulder line.
ADDITIONAL ASIDE ON HAND TECHNIQUES FOR PUNCHING. Using the principles developed so far, several hand techniques may be affixed to the punching arm to accommodate various targets and strategies.
The one-knuckle-fist is made by protruding the middle finger's second knuckle before the fist is clenched; this is the main striking weapon. The fore-knuckle-fist is made by protruding the forefinger and placing the thumb almost inside, under the second knuckle, before clenching the fist. The ridge-knuckle-fist is made like the fore-knuckle-fist, except that all the second knuckles are protruded.
Various open-hand techniques are also used for punching. The palm-heel is made with the wrist bent back 90 degrees and the second knuckles of all the fingers closed tightly. The spear- hand is made by keeping the fore-finger straight, curving the next two fingers to make the tops of all these fingers level, and tensing the hand uniformly from the little finger side and from the thumb side. The two-finger-spear-hand is made by slightly curving the first two fingers and clenching the others; sometimes the finger next to the index finger is only half-bent to give additional support to the index finger. The one-finger-spear-hand is made by slightly curving the first finger and half-bending the others for support. All open hand punching techniques are not performed with a shearing component at focus, as this would tend to break the fingers.
BLOCKING, A further digression into blocking illustrates an important use of rotation movements. Hip rotation is useful for attack-blocks, which are designed to break the opponent's rhythm and balance as a prelude to a counterattack. When facing in a given direction, you can effectively direct power perpendicular to an attack over an extremely wide angular region. Attack-blocks are used to defend the face, solar plexus, and groin regions.
Another method of blocking, which is smoother but requires better timing, is sweep-blocking, in which the attacking momentum of the opponent is controlled along a line tangential to the attack. The blocking hand glides along the attacking limb, exerting a gradual sideways force that smoothly deflects the attack. This method of control, used to a great extent in Judo and Aikido, is utilized in some of the timing exercises in chapter 3.
The attack-blocks as well as the attacks follow principles of natural body movements - e.g., one group of muscles should not impede another group's functions. An important application of these principles is: when the blocking (or punching) hand is close to your body, the palm faces toward you, and when the hand is extended, the palm faces away from you. These trajectories minimize arm tensions that could interfere with the flow of power coming from the legs and hips.
Perform these punches and blocks with a muscle connection at the armpit that allows the hip to drive momentum directly through the elbow and send the arm to its target. This connection is somewhat elastic; it is not so stiff that the arm cannot be accelerated away from the body, nor is it so relaxed that the arm remains disconnected from the body.
Exercise 14
UP-BLOCK. Begin the up-block as a punch along a vertical line in front
of the center of your body. When your wrist reaches the height of your
head, twist out your forearm to form a smooth curve extending under
your arm. The position of your fist should be about two fist-widths
from the top and front of the head.
[Figure 14A-B]
Exercise 15
You can use the extra twist at the end of the up-block to turn your
wrist out for a smoother deflection of the attack. The timing of this
twist with the focus of the block allows you a continuum of blocking
methods ranging from a heavy attack-block that is perpendicular to the
attacking line of motion to a smoother sweep-block that rolls along the
attacking line of motion (Figures 15A and 15B). This variation can also
be applied to the following two blocks.
[Figure 15A-B]
Exercise 16
ROUND-BLOCK. Start the round-block with your arm bent out to the side
at shoulder height and the fist by the ear. A smooth rotation down and
toward the center of the body ends with your palm facing inward at
shoulder height with your elbow bent at a 90 degree angle about two
fists' widths from the body.
[Figure 16A-C]
Exercise 17
DOWN-BLOCK. The third basic attack-block is the down-block. Begin with
your fist next to the opposite ear. Swing your arm down across the
front of your body and twist your forearm out just as your arm becomes
nearly straight. (If the elbow locks to make the perfectly straight, a
lot of tension is produced on both sides of the elbow, which prevents
momentum from the body from flowing smoothly through the arm. For
similar reasons the back knee in the front-stance is also slightly
bent.) At the focus of the block, your palm should be facing down and
the line of your an-n should be parallel with the front thigh as it
would be in a front-stance.
[Figure 17A-B
Figure 17C]
REVERSE ROTATION. All the blocks may utilize a fourth power method called reverse rotation. (The other three methods are vibration, shifting, and direct rotation.)
Exercise 18
An imaginary stick can be used to explain this new method of
transferring momentum. In the previous discussion, an imaginary stick
was placed across the body so that the pulling hand caused the body to
generate the muscular action necessary to drive the opposite arm. Now
imagine the stick placed along your arm, and allow your armpit to
develop a "swivel-joint" feeling. When your body now rotates in one
direction, your arm will rotate in the opposite direction.
[Figure 18A-B]
Exercise 19
To demonstrate reverse-rotation, from a standing position (natural-stance) step back to a back-stance, left foot forward, with the open left hand (fingers pressed together) next to the opposite ear. As your hips rotate back to the side position (exposing less of the body), your arm rotates in the opposite direction towards the round-block position. The edge of the blocking hand (knife-hand) twists into the attack (Figures 19A and 19B).
For close-distance sparring the open hand reacts more quickly than the
fist. The back-stance is also useful for close-distance sparring
because after blocking it is easier to change distance to reach with a
counter-punch in front stance. Figure 19C shows a
spear-hand-counter-punch, one of many punches that can be done by
using different parts of the hand. This movement utilizes power
generated from both shifting (back-stance to front-stance) and rotation
(counter-punching). In close distance positions, when blocking, usually
stop your pulling hand at the solar plexus region, ready to aid in such
a counter maneuver.
[Figure 19A-C]
In the direct-rotation down-block, the pulling hand is pulled in the direction opposite to the hip movement to act as a brake, focusing the hip rotation by initiating reaction forces causing a reverse-rotation coupling of the arm/hip on the side of the pulling hand. In reverse-rotation down-block, the pulling hand directly helps to rotate the hips by retaining the direct underarm muscular connection. Though the direct-rotation method might seem to be more natural just because of its directness, the reverse-rotation method is the one used when walking! - one of the most natural human movements: The arm takes up the reaction force of the hip motion and swings in the opposite direction.
ASIDE ON BLOCKING. For completeness, the other blocks are briefly discussed. The practice of these techniques, utilizing the above principles, will be done within the context of the Combinations in Appendix 4.
There are two major trajectories that the blocking hand can take: One trajectory goes from the inside of the body out towards the target; these are sometimes referred to as inside-to-outside blocks. The other trajectory goes from the outside of the body towards the body center; these are sometimes referred to as outside-to-inside blocks. Slightly confusing the issue, forearm-blocks (sometimes called round-blocks) using the little finger side of the arm are sometimes referred to as outside-blocks and forearm-blocks using the thumb side of the arm are sometimes referred to as inside-blocks. Thankfully, the inside-to-outside-forearm-block is executed as an inside-block (but occasionally as an outside-block), and the outside-to-inside-forearm-block is executed as an outside-block. However, the inside-to-outside-down-block and the outside-to-inside-down-block are both performed as either an inside-down-block or an outside-down-block.
This is as good a place as any to point out that, in this book and virtually all dojo and gyms, sometimes slightly different words and word-orders are used (e.g., counter-roundblock, inside-counter-forearm-block, etc.). I felt this mixed presentation was necessary both to acknowledge the existing tautological and non-standard terminology used among Karate instructors, as well as to help loosen any unfounded rigidities about different, but otherwise equally descriptive verbal titles of physical techniques. Very often in the Combinations in Appendix 4, the choice is yours to perform variations of techniques, limited only by natural physical principles.
As they relate to their influence on targets, there are several main categories of blocks. The attack-blocks have momentum perpendicular to the momentum of their targets. The sweep-blocks ride along tangentially to the momentum of their targets, with a slighter pressure applied for a longer contact time than with attack-blocks, which serves to deflect the attack. Attack-sweep (or sweep-attack) blocks are attack-blocks with some sweeping component, as discussed for the up-block, and as is further discussed under Sparring in Chapter 3. Hook-blocks are attack-inside-blocks performed with a straight joint (usually wrist or elbow) that immediately bends on contact to twist and break the opponent's balance. The punch-block is a round-punch that is used to simultaneously block and punch.
Augmented-blocks use the other hand to support the blocking hand; usually the fist by the inside-elbow, or the open hand pressed by the wrist of the blocking hand is used. The x-blocks are made by crossing the hands just below the wrists. Typical x-blocks are up-x-block, down-x-block, and sweep-x-block usually as a horizontal motion (sometimes referred to as two-hand-sweep-defense). As a variation, sometimes one of the hands of the x-block is used to attack. Double-blocks use two simultaneous blocks; double-up-block and double-outside (inside)-forearm-block are examples.
ADDITIONAL ASIDE ON HAND TECHNIQUES FOR BLOCKING. Using the principles previously described, several hand techniques may be affixed to the blocking arm to accommodate various targets and strategies.
The back-fist is usually used against fleshy target areas, and the bottom-fist (little finger side of fist) may be used anywhere. There is a little more variety available with the open hand: The knife-hand is the little finger side of the spear-hand; the ridge-hand is the thumb side of the same hand, but the thumb is pressed down to the bottom of the little finger, exposing the bottom edge of the fore-finger. The back-hand and open-palm may be used as well. The tiger-paw, usually used as part of a sweep-block, grabs just as contact is made; the thumb and fingers are curved to a half circle and tension is maintained inside; upon contact, the hand automatically closes.
Four main regions of the wrist are also used for blocks: The chicken-head is made by touching the thumb to the little finger, and using the thumb-side edge of the bent wrist. The tortoise-head (sometimes called bent-wrist) is made by touching the thumb to the index finger, and using the flat part of the bent wrist. The palm-heel is made by bending the wrist back 90 degrees, and using the bottom of the palm. The Chinese-sword is made by bending up the thumb-side edge of the wrist, using the little-finger side of the wrist-palm corner.
CURVILINEAR SOMATIC CONCENTRATION. The counter-punch and attack-block techniques provide examples of directed body-centered concentration along curved lines, with the similar benefits of techniques utilizing linear somatic concentration - direct, focused control of the opponents and the environment. Curvilinear concentration feels much the same as straight linear concentration, except that a different set of constraints must be taken into account to produce the necessary torques and correct trajectories. (For example, when we fly "directly" from Los Angeles to New York City, we are really traveling parallel to the curved surface of the earth.) These kinds of somatic concentration will be seen to have auditory and visual counterparts in chapter 3.
KICKING. We return now to somatic (body) linear concentration as applied to kicking. The power method shifting can be used. At this point, only thrusting kicks will be discussed in order to develop the most complete analogies with the linear concentration of punching.
The basic front-thrust-kick, side-thrust-kick, and back-thrust-kick (your homework after learning the other two kicks) begin with one leg pulled up close to the center of the body while the hip motion is being controlled by the other (stance) leg.
Exercise 20
FRONT-THRUST-KICK. To do the front-thrust-kick, first assume
front-stance, left leg forward, with your hips tucked in. (You might
want to hold lightly on to a wall or some other object with one hand
for balance when you first practice kicks.) Then drive your right leg
to the target along the line from your knee through the ball of your
foot, using force which comes from your stance (left) leg through your
hip. Then bring your kicking leg back to the center of your body to
allow a smooth transition to step into next stance. Use your abdominal
muscles to control the kicking leg throughout its trajectory; this
allows your leg muscles to be relaxed enough to be most receptive to
momentum from your hip. As with the underarm connection in the punch,
there should be an elastic-feeling connection between your leg and
torso. The connection is minimal at first, allowing the leg to
accelerate away from the hip and attain a high velocity; it is maximum
at the focus as it unites the leg with the more massive torso,
supported by the rigid stance leg. (Figures 20A-20E illustrate the
front-thrust-kick.)
[Figure 20A-B
Figure 20C
Figure 20D-E]
Exercise 21
SIDE-THRUST-KICK. To do the side-thrust-kick, drive the leg to target
along the line from the knee through the side edge of your foot with
the stance leg being used as in side-stance to drive the hips sideways.
Remember to keep your hips tucked in just as in the front-thrust-kick.
Figures 21A-21F illustrate the side-thrust-kick.
[Figure 21A-C
Figure 21D-F]
LINEAR SOMATIC CONCENTRATION. As discussed after the introduction of the shifting power method, linear techniques such as thrust kicks provide a simple method of directing body-centered concentration to control an opponent(s) and the external environment.
Exercise 22
CRESCENT-KICK. Another basic kick that you can practice at this stage
is the crescent-kick. It utilizes hip rotation to swing the sole of the
back leg into the target, which in Figure 22B happens to be the palm of
the opposite hand.
[Figure 22A
Figure 22B]
The swinging motion used in the crescent-kick can be applied to the bottom of the calf of the opponent (without smashing the leg, which has the undesirable effect of breaking your own balance and making your partner somewhat angry with you!).
Exercise 23
A good exercise to practice this sweeping motion is for you and an opponent to face each other with opposite feet forward - e.g., one right, one left. Both step back and step in repeatedly until one side takes a chance and tries either to punch to the face or to sweep the opponent's incoming front leg, which may be bracing for a punch. If you successfully execute the sweep, quickly rotate back to execute a counter-punch.
The trajectory of the crescent-kick, similar to the attack- 22A blocks, is curved. The dynamics of curved techniques will be further explored in the next sub-section.
Exercise 24
A simple test may be made to see if the starting motion in the kicks is truly generated from the stance and hips, or if it is generated incorrectly from reaction forces set up by initial muscle activity in the chest and shoulders (a common mistake of beginning students, especially men). In this test keep your arms loosely folded during the kick, and notice any tensions in your chest or shoulders that may impede your motion. If you feel such tensions, you know that aforementioned undesirable reaction forces are present.
If you are a beginner, you should go to Appendix 3 and learn the first kata.
TORQUES AND ANGULAR MOVEMENT. It is now time to study the dynamics of rotation movements in more detail than was done when we discussed the counter-punch, blocking techniques, and the crescent-kick. Many analogies can be made between the dynamics of linear and curvilinear movements. To create linear motion, you applied forces or reaction forces to accelerate the masses of your arms, legs, and body, producing momentum at the target. The momentum '6 you produced continued along its line of motion until it was stopped by forces from another body or by internal forces such as friction. You were also able to transfer momentum from the body to the arms and legs to produce fast-moving projectiles.
'6 F (force) = m (mass) x a (acceleration); v (velocity) imparted to m by F is v = a x t (time). At any time, t, P (momentum) = m x v.
Torque is used in a similar way to accelerate and rotate inertia to
produce angular momentum (a spinning motion).'7 Figure 23 shows equal
and opposite forces, F, acting at the ends of a stick of length 2L,
rotating it about its center.
[Figure 23]
'7 The inertia, I, of a body of mass with respect to a point a distance r away, about which it is rotating, is equal to I = m x r x r. The angular momentum, A, possessed by this rotating mass, is equal to A = m x v X r, where v is the tangential velocity of the mass around the center. The angular velocity, w, is expressed as v/r.
Angular momentum tends to continue its circular motion until stopped by other torques.
Exercise 25
INERTIA. The concept of inertia can be readily understood in body language by performing the following exercise. Assume a front-stance, keeping arms outstretched with underarms tensed so that the arms move rigidly with the hips. Rotate the hips and arms with maximum torque across the hips to cause the hips to rotate. Practice rotating the hips and arms several times (Figure 24A).
Bend the arms at the elbow, and do the same hip motion (Figure 24B).
Then do the movement a third time, clasping your elbows with your hands
(Figure 24C). Now do the first exercise (Figure 24A) once more, and
notice how much harder it is to get up the same angular speed with the
first exercise as compared to the third. In each case the mass moved
was the same, but the inertia was different.
[Figure 24A
Figure 24B-C]
Exercise 26
STRIKE-LOCK TECHNIQUES. You can transfer this rotation motion - angular
momentum - to other body parts; this is analogous to transferring
linear momentum from the body to the arm in a step-in-punch. From one
back-stance, rotate 180 degrees to another back-stance, swinging the arm
and focusing the back of the fist on an imaginary target (Figure 25).
To get maximum speed, sweep the elbow across the body, bending it as it
crosses through the center, then letting it whip out to the target.
This motion is most efficient because the inertia is minimized in the
middle of the motion by bending the elbow; the distance from the center
of rotation is almost zero, which allows the greatest speed to be built
up for a given torque from the legs and hips. Be sure to tense the
small group of muscles under the arm and on the sides of the ribs to
lock the arm, preventing a rocking motion at focus. This technique
feels like a whip: A large mass (you act as the handle of the whip)
starts a rotation motion; this angular momentum continues to ripple
down the whip to the end, whereupon the small mass (your fist,
analogous to the knot of the whip) is accelerated to very high speeds.
This motion is called a strike-lock technique because, upon focus the arm
locks to the body. Whereas thrusting techniques approach their
targets as arrows, striking techniques approach their targets as
swinging sticks.
[Figure 25A
Figure 25B-C]
Exercise 27
STRIKE-SNAP TECHNIQUES. Another striking technique is the strike-snap motion, so-called because of a snapback, or recoil, movement. For variety, practice this technique with a different method of hip power: By now you are versed in the reverse-rotation-down-block technique that is done, for example, by stepping back from natural-stance to front-stance. Allow your elbow to go straight to a target at face level, rather than down to a block. Your hips rotate in one direction; your arm rotates in the opposite direction (Figure 26). As your hips complete their 45-degree rotation, lock the underarm of your striking an-n to your body but keep your elbow joint rather flexible, maintaining a "spongy" feeling. The dynamics of this "spongy" feeling will be explained later in the section on Energy. The spinning motion given to your arm thus "leaks out" and is transferred to your forearm, which spins out very quickly from the upper-arm-body connected mass and then automatically snaps back close to your upper-arm again, similar to the action of a released, stretched spring. (Actually, the compressed tricep muscles greatly contribute to this recoil upon their expansion.)
Since the inertia of the body is much greater than the inertia of the forearm, we find that (neglecting internal frictional torques) the angular speed of the forearm must be much greater than the original angular speed of the body. Thus you can transform the large inertia of your body into a large angular speed of your forearm.'8 This is quite similar to using the principles of linear momentum applied to many thrusting techniques; for example, a moving body mass can be used to develop fast punches.
'8 The transfer of angular momentum may be algebraically
described as follows: Let the inertias of the body (rotating
about the center as in Figure 26A compare to Figure 23), the
arm (rotating about the shoulder joint as in Figure 26B), and
the forearm (rotating about the elbow joint as in Figure 26C),
be denoted by I (body), I (arm), and 1 (forearm), respectively.
Let the angular velocity of the body, the arm, and the forearm
be denoted by w (body), w (arm), and w (forearm),
respectively. Then conservation of angular momentum A at each
stage, transferred down to the arm by a system of levers,
implies that:
A = I (body) x w (body) = I (arm) x w (arm).
A = I (arm) x w (arm) = I (forearm) x w (forearm).
Some algebra shows that
w (forearm) = [I (body) / I (forearm] x w (body)
Since I (body) is greater than I (forearm), we see that the
angular velocity of the forearm becomes much greater than the
angular velocity of the body (neglecting friction at the
joints).
[Figure 26A-B
Figure 26C-E]
Performance of strike-snaps requires a muscular feeling in the joints, which is different from the elastic connection or the swivel joint connection discussed previously. This third connection, a "spongy" connection, requires a muscular rhythm of expansion and contraction paralleling the dynamic motion of the limb to and from the target. (This type of muscle flexibility is also used in the hips and legs and will be elaborated on later in the section dealing with Energy.)
Striking techniques take advantage of the small inertia of the striking
limb. Aside from strategy (choice of technique, timing, and distance),
a given technique can most efficiently transfer momentum when the
target and the projectile have equal masses. Consider the three cases
of a moving marble hitting another marble at rest in Figure 27, (It is
assumed in this simple discussion that no heat is generated in the
collisions; the marbles are completely ideal and elastic.) Only in the
third case, which is familiar to all those who have played marbles,
billiards, or pool, can the momentum of one marble be completely
transferred to the other. With a given momentum available, the various
thrusting and striking techniques give a rather wide range of masses to
use against various targets (face, body, and so forth) in order to
accomplish maximum transfer of momentum.
[Figure 27]
Exercise 28
COUNTER STRIKE-SNAP TECHNIQUES. A very sophisticated example of power
control is seen in one of the counter-strike-snap techniques - the
counter-bottom-fist-strike-snap (the meaty part of the fist is usually
used against hard targets) in front-stance with the back arm (Figure
28). Use direct rotation of the hip to rotate your elbow toward the
target (your fist moves to solar plexus region) as in Figure 28B. As
the hip continues to rotate to the reverse-half-body position, the
resulting reverse-rotation motion produces the proper angular momentum
to be transferred to the forearm. Finally the "sponge-feeling" in the
elbow enables you to execute the strike-snap, which has occurred
between Figures 28C and 28D.
[Figure 28A-D]
Exercise 29
STRIKE-LOCK ELBOW ATTACK. To produce a strike-lock elbow attack, go through Exercise 28, keeping your elbow locked and drive it to the target without releasing your fist from the solar plexus region.
Exercise 30
To execute a strike-lock elbow attack to the face, start as in Exercise 29, but swing your elbow directly up to attack the face. The palm side of your fist should finally come close to the ear on the attacking side of the body.
Exercise 31
A reverse-rotation technique may send out yet another type of elbow-striking technique to the target. From round block position in front-stance, move the front leg in to center and then out, changing to side-stance and thereby causing the hips to rotate; this is used to accomplish a reverse-rotation hip motion that drives your elbow out chest level along the line of the original front stance.
ASIDE ON HAND TECHNIQUES FOR STRIKING. For completeness, other hand techniques used for striking are briefly discussed. These, of course, use the principles previously discussed. The practice of these techniques will be done within the context of the Combinations in Appendix 4.
The techniques described in the Additional Aside on Hand Techniques For Blocking can be used for striking. These include: back-fist, bottom-fist, knife-hand, ridge-hand, backhand, open-palm, tiger-paw, chicken-head, tortoise-head (bent-wrist), palm-heel (sometimes called ox-jaw) and Chinese-sword. In addition, the tip of the spear-hand may be used (carefully in practice!) to the eyes. The rising-punch can also be considered a striking hand technique. The thumb-knuckle is made by pressing the thumb against the second knuckle of the forefinger of the clenched fist. The bear-claw is made by bending all the fingers at the second knuckle.
The back-fist-strike (-lock or -snap) is performed as a bottom-fist-strike until just before focus, when the forearm rotates out to execute the back-fist-strike. This is done for the same reasons the punch rotates only just before focus - to minimize tensions across the bicep.
It is often very efficient to smoothly whip back and forth with the same hand, between Chinese-sword and chickenhead, or between tortoise-head and palm-heel, to make useful attack-block or double-attack (block) combinations.
STRIKE-SNAP-KICKS. The line from the solar Plexus to the knee can move in three planes to produce front-thrust (and back-thrust), side-thrust, and crescent kicks. The above striking method also can be applied in these three planes to produce strike-snap kicks, which are referred to as front-snap, side-snap, and round(-snap) kicks. (The crescent kick is more properly classified as a strike-lock technique.)
The dynamics of each kick can be understood on two levels. On one level, the concepts of forces and reaction forces are used to analyze each limb motion as it contributes to the total technique. On the other level, concepts of linear momentum, angular momentum, and energy, discussed in the next section, describe the total process more abstractly, but also easily lead to generalization. An understanding of the second level will enable you to learn all the snap-kicks almost simultaneously, so that you won't need to spend weeks imitating and memorizing a different body feeling for each technique.
Exercise 32
FRONT-SNAP-KICK. The fundamentals of the front-snap-kick are best learned with one hand placed against the wall for balance. The kick is usually delivered with the ball of the foot, although sometimes the toes are turned down to make a "Fist." Though your ankle is rigid upon impact, keep it somewhat flexible during the kick to continuously direct a straight line from your heel through the ball of the foot directly into the target. From front-stance, left leg forward, move the back leg to kick by changing your front leg from pushing out to pulling in, as in the beginning of the step-in-punch. (If not done properly, the shoulders will jerk back involuntarily to cause the reaction force necessary to move the leg. This motion breaks balance and prevents the body from compressing when focusing during impact.)
In executing the snap-kick, you must rotate the line connecting the solar plexus to the knee about the solar plexus as center. Minimize inertia to obtain maximum speed -that is, as your knee progresses toward the target, bend it sharply in order to keep most of your leg close to the center of rotation for as much of the kicking trajectory as possible. This occurs quite naturally as your knee accelerates toward the target; your calf is rotated up to the back of your thigh because of a reaction force that is similar to the one described in the use of the pulling hand for punching and in the reverse-rotation techniques.
Create tension inside curves that run along the inside and top of your
thigh and the abdominal walls to help lock your front leg to your body
just when the line from the center of your hip through your knee is
finally pointing to the target (Figure 29C). Your back leg directs
force through this imaginary line, feeling like the back leg of
front-stance. If the knee is now kept flexible, the force that stops
the leg motion whips out the foot by effecting a reverse-rotation force
(Figure 29D). Your leg automatically springs back as your knee assumes
the "spongy" feeling similar to that used in the arm strike-snap
techniques (Figure 29E). If the muscular expansion and contraction of
all the body muscles follows the rhythm of this dynamic flow, this kick
becomes a very strong technique. This kind of muscular control will be
discussed further in the section on Energy.
[Figure 29A-C
Figure 29D-E]
In thrusting techniques, the body is rigid and mostly Compressed upon focus. In striking techniques, the body first has an overall stretched feeling that helps to connect the back stance leg through the attacking hand or foot much the same way two ends of a taut string are connected. The hip and abdominal regions then compress with the snap-back of the technique. In all techniques some method of total body connection is necessary.
A more general way of looking at the snap-kick technique is to observe that a torque from the original front-stance produces a spinning movement using the line from the solar plexus to the knee as the radius of the circular motion. This angular momentum is then transferred to the lower leg when the stance (standing) leg acting at the solar plexus exerts a counter-torque to still the body.
Exercise 33
SIDE-SNAP-KICK. The same dynamic process can produce a side-snap-kick to attack a target to the side, using the outside edge of the foot. Be careful not to turn the toes and ankle out; if you do, your thigh muscles also will twist out. From the point of view of forces (reverse-rotation), the bottom of your leg is scooped up towards the groin as your knee shoots out. Your knee should be out at an angle of about 45 degrees from the front of the body rather than to the center as in the side-thrust-kick. When your thigh is then locked, making I it a rigid extension of the torso, the spinning motion originally generated in the torso and leg is transferred to the lower leg.
If you had maximum speed at the target, your leg should quickly snap
back to a position close to the thigh (Figure 30E), utilizing the
"spongy" feeling at the knee.
[Figure 30A-C
Figure 30D-E]
Exercise 34
ROUND-KICK. The round-kick is done in the third plane (horizontal) of
your three-dimensional space. The kicking leg essentially does the
front-snap-kick, but in the horizontal plane. Use your side muscles to
help pick up the leg so that your heel, ball of your foot, knee, and
hip are equal distances from the ground. Rotate your hip and knee 90
degrees, so that the bottom of your leg is driven to the back of the
thigh; lock your knee and hip along the line to the target to spin off
your lower leg. As with the other snap kicks, it is easy to step
smoothly into the next stance and technique (Figure 31).
[Figure 31A-B
Figure 31C-D]
Exercises 35 & 36
FRONT-KNEE AND ROUND-KNEE KICKS. If the knee is held rigidly bent, instead of sponge-like, when doing the front and round kicks, front-knee and round-knee striking attacks are performed.
Beginners often persist in confusing the thrust-kicks and snap-kicks. Remember that, in the thrust-kicks, the line from the knee to the bottom of the foot starts at the solar plexus; then the knee is driven along this line into the target. In the snap-kicks, the knee is rotated up to the kicking position where it momentarily stops allowing the bottom of the leg to carry the angular momentum to the target. An effective snap-kick will also carry some linear momentum to the target, but along the line connecting the hip-center, knee and target, without allowing the knee to rotate away from this line during the snapping technique. This linear component of momentum aids the control as well as the power of the kick.
REMINDER: You should be practicing all these techniques in the context of two- to four-step combinations as well as keeping up with the practice of the kata (Appendix 3).
ASIDE ON KICKING. For completeness, the other kicks are briefly discussed. The practice of these techniques, utilizing the above principles, will be done within the context of the Combinations of Appendix 4.
The inside-round-kick starts as a front-kick, but the hip-center curves the knee and kicks to the comer outside the same side as the kicking leg. The round-front-kick is performed in the 45 degree plane, half-way between the planes of the front and round kicks. To develop maximum power, caution must be taken with the back-thrust-kick to ensure that the stance leg is used as the front leg of front-stance; the hips should be tucked in as much as possible, yet allowing a gentle curve in the back concave towards the target. The back-snap-kick whips the heel of the foot to the target by a sudden tensing of the leg bicep. The wheel-kick is performed by rotating the slightly curved leg to attack the target with the back of the heel; there is a slight contraction of the leg bicep on focus, similar to the back-snap-kick. This kick can be performed with either direct rotation or reverse-rotation (sometimes called inside-wheel-kick) hip-leg dynamics. The stomp-kick (or the stamp-kick) is performed as a side-thrust-kick, but is directed down to the ground. This kick may be executed close to the other leg, or at side-stance distance; if the latter is done correctly, the knee must move in a smooth arc from the center of the hip, over towards the target, then down to the target.
The leg can be used for sweeping motions in several ways. The crescent-sweep-kick can be delivered to the ankle, calf, or knee with either direct-rotation or reverse-rotation hip-leg dynamics. The hook-sweep-kick pulls the foot (with its target) towards your body center just as contact is made. The wheel-sweep-kick is performed like the wheel-kick, but close to the ground.
The leg can also be used for blocks. Most often used are the crescent-kick-block and the inside-snap-kick-block. The latter is accomplished by using the inside thigh muscles of the stance leg to pull the sole of the kicking leg upwards towards the center of your body.
Many of the kicks can be performed while jumping. Some of the most popular are the flying-front-kick, flying-side-thrust (or snap)-kick, flying-double-front-kick (legs used alternately), and the flying-front & side (snap or thrust)-kick (legs used alternately).
APPLICATION TO BODY MOVEMENTS. Some of the principles described above
can be utilized to effect dynamic rotational and sidewards body
motion. In the next three exercises start from a partially relaxed
front-stance, which is a natural sparring stance. In both rotational
and sidewards motion, the smaller lateral components of the forces
between the legs are used.
[Figure 32]
Exercise 37
CIRCLE-SHIFTING is accomplished by rotating the body, using the front
leg as a pivot. The pivot leg changes its lateral component of force
from outward to inward, which enables both legs to forcibly rotate the
body. As your back leg rotates around, allow the inside thigh muscles
that are pulling on the inside of your front leg to connect and pull
along the inside thigh muscles of your back leg; this will pull your
legs together during the rotation, minimizing their inertia and
maximally accelerating the turn (Figure 33).
[Figure 33A-C]
Exercise 38
SIDE-SHIFTING is accomplished by releasing the horizontal force on the
back leg to allow a sidewards motion to begin. Bring your back leg
through the center of the body, and drive it back along a 90-degree
axis. Push your front leg outward along the floor to the side; it now
becomes the front leg of a front-stance at the new 90-degree angle
(Figure 34).
[Figure 34A
Figure 34B-C]
Exercise 39
The front leg can also twist and reverse-rotate the hip. If a down-block is to be performed, the hip, in turn, reverse-rotates the arm. Side-shifting to a down-block position thus utilizes an aesthetic unity of many dynamic processes.
If you are a beginner, you should now begin learning Combinations. Appendix 4 will give you enough for your first year. (A good instructor will already be making up two- to four-step combinations for basic practice and sparring.)
FALLS. You can experience the sensation of complete body rotation in tumbling, which a few methods of falling will illustrate. In every fall, the spine is kept smoothly curved by tucking in the pelvis, tucking in the chin, and maintaining an even tension along the curved spine. The purpose is to convert some of the energy gained in the fall into harmless, rolling, rotational energy.
In the counter-punching and blocking techniques performed early in this training, the torso made turning motions similar to motions in the falls, but the movement was accomplished by using the legs to torque the torso. By utilizing gravity to perform these falls, you can better realize a more total three-dimensionality to all techniques. Learning to fall is, of course, essential before seriously practicing leg sweeps (variations of crescent kicking) and throws (discussed after falls).
Exercise 40
The backward-fall is performed by simultaneously squatting and rolling
back. As the roll begins, the arms, which are extended at a 45-degree
angle out from the sides, slap the floor to help break the backward
fall (Figure 35).
[Figure 35A-C]
Exercise 41
Use the curved spine as a cradle to perform the side-roll. Both arms
and your bent leg cushion the roll (Figure 36).
[Figure 36A-C]
Exercise 42
Perform the forward-roll by rolling diagonally across your curved back
and hip. Curve your arms and hands as extensions of your spine as your
body falls forward and over across the back hip (Figure 37).
[Figure 37A-C]
THROWS. A category of techniques that demand smooth, correct torquing motions includes throws and joint-twisting techniques. One's opponent as well as oneself must be controlled in the rotation movements.'9
'9 In all exercises involving two or more people, work with your opponent so that you both learn from the activity. The object is not to hurt each other. All such exercises should be done slowly for the first few trials.
Exercise 43
Person A (offense) steps-in and punches at stomach level; Person B
(defense) shifts to the opponent's inside and blocks with
knife-hand-block in back-stance (Figures 38A-38B). Person B quickly
shifts to front-stance and thrusts the other arm, using the knife-hand
(open but tensed palm) under the underarm of the attacker (Figure 38C).
>From this position, Person B can throw Person A by smoothly rotating
the coupled bodies, with arms extended, 180 degrees to a new
front-stance (Figure 38D). The erect posture and straight eye positions
are extremely important in this exercise.
[Figure 38A-D]
Exercise 44
Another throw can be performed against an opponent who is
front-thrust-kicking. The defender slides inside Person A's kicking
leg, thrusting the closer hand inside the thigh and the other hand
across the neck (Figures 39A-39B), then turns 180 degrees to the new
front-stance to throw Person A (Figure 39C). If you are the thrower,
help the opponent to roll by tucking his/her head under as you throw
him/her.
[Figure 39A-C]
CURVILINEAR SOMATIC CONCENTRATION. As discussed after blocking and just before thrust-kicking, curvilinear arm, leg, and body techniques provide an important method of directing body-centered concentration to control an opponents) and the external environment.
C.Energy and Expanded Body Awareness
Energy, another physical principle commonly applied to karate techniques, is composed of three forms: Energy (total) = Energy (motion)'1O + Energy (compression) + Energy (heat).
'10 Energy (motion) = [(momentum) x (momentum)] / (2 x mass)
Energy (heat) is caused by friction in the muscles, biochemical processes, and so forth; it cannot be practically retrieved. Energy (compression) from compressed muscles can be reused to produce the beginning of another technique much the same as motion can be obtained from a compressed spring or sponge-ball.
Exercise 45
This principle is primarily responsible for the smooth flow between the two techniques in the simple exercise: counter-punch, and step-in counter-punch off the compression from the first technique. The expansion from the first counter-punch not only helps the torso prepare for the next compression (second counter-punch), but also puts extra tension across the stance which is used to quickly step forward by initially pulling in with the front leg.
The use of this muscular compression and expansion in the arms and legs gives rise to the "spongy" feeling necessary to do the strike-snap techniques discussed in the previous section. Now we are applying this feeling to the entire body.
Body rhythm is often aided by knowing and using physical laws of force, energy, and motion. The momentum created for one technique can serve the next technique as well:
Exercise 46
In performing the combination of step-in front-snap-kick, then punch, the body momentum gathered behind the kick continues forward, increasing the effectiveness of the punch.
Exercise 47
In order to smoothly integrate individual techniques into combinations as well as to perfect each technique, body expansion and compression must be learned. A simple exercise taken from the kata '11 illustrates the possibilities of such technique-to-technique connections. Try 3 successive step-in-punches. After the first punch, wait until the body springs back to the neutral state (or state of even tonus) before triggering the start of the second punch. Although the momentum of the body stops after the first punch, the inside muscular expansion and compression continues. After the second punch however, continue momentum and also use the compression of that punch to trigger the start of the third punch. Between these last two punches both the outside and inside movements of the body are uninterrupted. The total count is: 1, 2-3.
'11 See Appendix 3.
Exercise 48
Apply the rhythm of 1, 2-3 to: step-back down-block (1), waiting until the neutral position is attained, and step-in-kick (2), and punch (3).
Exercise 49
The count 1-2-3 can be used in the following exercise: step back up-block, front leg front-kick, then step-in-punch (no internal pauses).
In the following two exercises synchronize the feelings of internal body flexibility with external movement:
Exercise 50
With Linear Motion: Step in front-snap-kick, step into punch, front leg front-snap-kick, snap-back and step back to reverse-rotation-punch.
Exercise 51
With Circular Motion: Starting from counter-punch position, step in round-kick, step into counter-punch, step back and round-block (same hand that punched), front leg round-kick, and counter-punch.
ENERGY AND EXPANDED SOMATIC AWARENESS. The awareness of using energy of body compression and expansion is a completely different attention state than that used to direct linear or curvilinear body-centered concentration to a target. This new state of attention requires a full awareness of the body rhythm necessary to produce any single body technique as well as to smoothly fill and connect the spaces between techniques. No matter how fast you accomplish single techniques or their connections, maximum power is only developed by studying the smooth flow that takes place even on these shortest time scales. This somatic awareness will be seen to have auditory and visual counterparts in Chapter 3.
FOCUS. Up to this point we have treated the vast subject of body dynamics in terms of a small number of basic processes - forces, momentum, energy. Now treatment will be expanded on a single activity, somatic focus, which is the maximization of momentum during the small space-time interval of impact.
Exercise 52
In order to have a relative gauge of your timing and speed, use a time interval of two to four heart beats, within which to trigger a technique - counter-punch or front kick, for example. Try to minimize the time span between being aware of triggering yourself to execute the movement and actually making the movement. As you become aware of more and more centeredness and unity in a single movement, your concept of time duration will expand. If you sense that your technique is becoming faster with practice, almost certainly you are correct.
Exercise 53
To gauge your mass (body connection, stance, etc.), punch within 1/8 of an inch from a wall, then relax the front leg, allow the body to drive against the wall, and check if the mass connection flows correctly through your body. You should feel a smooth line of tension between your fist and the bottom of your back foot. Try to achieve a stronger mass connection on the next punch, and so on.
Exercise 54
Do a similar set of exercises for thrust-kicking as for the punch (Exercises 52 and 53).
Exercise 55
The next step is to smoothly connect the initial body dynamics - the production of high speeds - with the final body connection - the attaching of the large body mass to the fast projectile. This will be practiced as you counter-punch, using breathing and body dynamics correctly. During the initial stages of the technique, begin to compress your body and accelerate your arm, utilizing the minimum connection under your arm necessary to attach it to your body. Continue to accelerate your arm during the middle stages of the techniques as your body further compresses; the elastic connection becomes stronger. This compression is accomplished by strongly exhaling, which helps to unify the large muscles of the body. Finally, the last stage of the technique is marked by an intense total body compression as you accelerate the punch up to maximum velocity, yet rigidly connect your arm to your body.
Exercise 56
To help maximize the momentum within the shortest time interval, do the techniques with a strong Kiai. This helps to erase many psychological traps which can prevent you from centering your energy.
Two important time intervals involved in focus are the time from the beginning of the technique up to the focus, and that during focus:
Exercise 57
The importance of the first time interval can be demonstrated with a simple punching technique. The time interval between the beginning of the punch and the beginning of body focus is longer, respectively, when punching using side-stance with body vibration, when punching using front-stance with body rotation, and when punching using front-stance to shift into a new front-stance. Try all three alternately, to develop an awareness of the different time scales of focus.
Exercise 58
During focus of punching and strike-snapping, the body feeling is quite different and has correspondingly different time intervals. During the punch, which is a thrusting technique, the body is compressed. During a back-hand strike-snap technique, the body passes through a completely stretched position during impact and then compresses towards the center as the arm recoils back, which actually aids the arm's recoil movement. Hand and leg techniques as well as striking and thrusting techniques also have different time intervals during focus. The difference is easily noted by comparing a front-snap-kick to a step-in-punch to a front-thrust-kick and so forth. A methodical procedure to analyze these differences is to alternately pair a counter-punch with other techniques such as another punch, a strike-block technique, a hand-strike-snap technique, a front-snap-kick, a side-thrust-kick. The counter-punch serves as a standard to compare these other techniques.
A fine sense of focus and self-body-control is essential before sparring. Self-mental-control is obviously also essential; this will be elaborated on in the next two chapters. However, even at this stage, simple pre-planned sparring exercises can give you invaluable feedback on your own techniques and rhythm, as well as prepare you to engage with an opponent's techniques and rhythms. Free-sparring, without preset techniques, should only be practiced under the strict supervision of a competent Instructor.
DEFENSE-ATTACK SEQUENCES. Sparring exercises can be done emphasizing a competition of attacking and defense rhythms. Do these exercises slowly the first few times. Just touch, don't hit (focus inside) the other person's body. "To the face" means almost touching the face (1/8 of an inch away).
In the following two exercises, both opponents start with left leg forward in down-block position, far enough apart so your fists cannot touch.
Exercise 59
Attack: step-in double-punch to the face (one step forward, two punches).
Defense: step back, up-block to the first punch, and counter-punch to stomach (solar plexus). Both sides complete to execute their second punch first.
Exercise 60
Attack: step-in front-snap-kick, continue to step-in-punch to the face.
Defense: step to the side and take a front-stance facing 90 degrees away from the opponent's kick down-blocking, and then turn and lunge towards the attacker, counter-punching to the solar plexus.
Summary
Section A discussed the application of forces and torques to develop stance; this involves somatic (body) concentration to one's own body-center.
Section B discussed the application of linear and angular momentum to develop punches, blocks, hand-strikes, and thrusting and snapping kicks; this involves linear and curvilinear directional control of somatic concentration along a line and to angles.
Section C discussed the application of energy to develop rhythm, and body expansion and compression; this involves expanded somatic awareness.
CHAPTER 2
Sensory Nature
The purpose of this book is to illustrate how the practice of karate can be a useful tool to study many of the physical and mental processes necessary to learn and be creative in all facets of life. The "correct" or "ideal" mental processes are perhaps the most perplexing part of karate study.
It is especially important for the new student to realize that, independent of motives and attitudes, there are precise attention states that must be mastered in order to function at a creative level. A mastery of these attention states will enable you to many times bypass emotional blocks - anger, fear, frustration, etc. - simply because these emotions become unnecessary to function. Other times, a mastery of these attention states will make it very apparent which desirable emotions - "spirit," motivation, confidence, sharing with your training partner, etc. - are important for you to better yourself and to help others.
This chapter's main purpose is to define and explain these various states of attention. In the next chapter, exercises specific to karate will make these definitions and explanations more relevant and practical.
If this chapter looks too difficult or technical, please skip it on the first reading of this book, and directly proceed to Chapter 3.
A. Sensory Attention
Every physical activity requires good timing; this implies that there is synchronization of awareness of the movements of the opponent with techniques accurately concentrated to specific space-time points; this activity enables you to interact with, and sometimes control, the opponent. In some physical activities - skiing, surfing, driving a car - the "opponent" may be, or also include, the external environment.
A symbolic equation defining Sensory Nature can be inferred from this activity: Sensory Nature: Timing = Focal-Synchro-Plenum (2-1) These terms will be defined and explained in the sections below.
FOCAL MODE. The Focal Mode,'1 basic to consciousness at all levels, is essentially concentration - or attention to a point. In karate, it is manifested in the maximization of momentum during the small space-time interval of impact during a block, punch, strike, or kick. All athletes, amateur or professional, are concerned with increasing their ability to concentrate.
'1 Focal Mode - Focal adj.: of, relating to, or having a focus. Focal n: a central point at a: a center, activity or attraction, or one drawing the greatest attention or interest; b: a point of concentration or of emanation; c: one aspect or area (of a culture) that is more complex and extensively elaborated than others. Definitions are from Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Springfield, Mass., G. & C. Merriam Co., 1971.
PLENUM MODE. The Plenum Mode '2 also basic to all consciousness, is usually a state of diffuse attention, a gestalt feeling for the whole. In physical disciplines, it is a state of awareness, the receptive process of being open to all information, a diffuse attention over a wide region of space-time.
'2 Plenum Mode - Plenum adj.: relating to or being a space in which a plenum exists. Plenum n: the entire membership of a specific group; the quality or state of being full. Definitions from Webster's, ibid.
The Plenum Mode, awareness, involves being sensitive to all that is "relevant" in the external environment. (Relevancy. therefore may also necessitate some interplay with the Focal Mode.) It is an intense state of sensation and perception. The person engaged in any physical discipline should also be aware of and receptive to everything relevant in the internal environment - memory, thought, imagination, intuition, and so on. A Mirror Principle can be stated which expresses the reflexive nature of experience: Experience Mirrors External Environment + Internal Environment (2-2) In karate, kata (formal combinations of techniques) and combinations (sequences of techniques to be quickly learned) are especially useful in becoming aware of internal experiences. If you have high standards, you will set up near perfect sources of energy or imaginary opponents in real external space-time. These sources are endowed with momentum-energy rhythms created by your imagination. When done properly, the combinations can become one of the most important exercises in karate training.
Defense and Attack. Much can be learned from the ancient dance-like sequences in the kata. These kata were composed by masters with forty or sixty years of training both sides of their bodies symmetrically and, I must assume, they therefore utilized their most natural, fluent patterns. However, when studying the katas, I was interested to note that the most natural movements acquired from the masters' symmetrically practiced basic exercises were incorporated asymmetrically into the katas.
In a sparring situation, whether real or imaginary, I hypothesize that you can respond most naturally when you maintain an open state of awareness to your opponent's rhythms - the essence of defense, yet actively poised to concentrate an attack or counter-attack. After analyzing 23 elementary and advanced kata, each of which contains five to ten sub-combinations of defense and attack, I have found that 75% of the sub-combinations start with defense to the left followed by an attack with the right side of the body, or with an initial attack to the right. These initial attack or defense-attack sequences are subsequently performed in mirror image in 50% of the sub-combinations (the defense-attack and its mirror image count as one sub-combination). The conclusion is that, for a right-handed person, the left side is best suited for defense (awareness - Plenum Mode), and the right side is best suited for a subsequent counterattack (concentrated action - Focal Mode,). Now, some years after I made this discovery, a wealth of medical and neurophysiological data reinforces my findings.'3
'3 R. A. Filbey and M. S. Gazzaniga, "Splitting the normal brain with reaction time," Psychonomic Science, 17:335-336, 1969. See Appendix 1, A. A. R. Gibson, R. A. Filbey, M. S. Gazzaniga, "Hemispheric differences as reflected by reaction time," Fed. Proc. 29: 658, 1970. See Appendix 1, B. M. S. Gazzaniga, "Processing of information by name: differences between right and left hemispheres in non-normal man," XIX International Conference of Psychology, 1969. See Appendix 1, C. These three studies support the concept of the subsequent nature of defense-attack in terms of how the brain responds.
SYNCHRO MODE. The Synchro Mode,'4 which joins together the other consciousness processes, is itself the process of interplay between the other modes.
'4 Synchro Mode - Synchro - comb form: synchronized: synchronous. Synchronize vb.: to represent or arrange (events) so as to indicate coincidence or coexistence. Definitions from Webster's, op. cit.
In most right-handed people, the left hemisphere of the brain mainly coordinates the right side of the body, and the right hemisphere of the brain mainly coordinates the left side of the body.'5 (The reverse is true for most left-handed people.) "Mainly" only means with a high degree of correlation, as yet unspecified. This anatomical information leads to a tentative conclusion that the right hemisphere of the brain, mainly controlling the left side of the body, is most naturally used passively to receive the peripheral visual information of space time (Plenum Mode), and the left hemisphere, mainly controlling the right side of the body, is most naturally used to execute an auditory-to-body attack response to a specific point in space-time processed by the cerebellum (hind brain)'6 Information passes from one hemisphere to the other through a bundle of ganglia called the corpus callosum (and perhaps through other parts of the brain), an anatomical connection which helps the brain stem (reticular activating system) to facilitate the Synchro Mode. It is important to realize that these anatomical parts of the brain are correlates of the Synchro Mode which process it; they do not comprise it.
'5 J. Levy, and T. Nagylaki, "A model for the genetics of handedness," Genetics 72:117-118, 1972. See Appendix 1, D. R. W. Sperry, "Lateral Specialization in the Surgically Separated Hemispheres," The Neurosciences: Third Study Program, Cambridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1974.
'6 H. H. Kornhuber, "Neurologie des kleinhirns," Zbl. Ges. Neurol. Psvchiat. 191:13, 1968. See Appendix 1, F.
For simple tasks, the Synchro Mode controls just a single interplay. In more complex activities (and most activities are complex), information may be coming into both hemispheres and may be transmitted from one to the other more than once. It is probable that the most efficient procedure of processing enables information to go as packages from one hemisphere to the other.'7
'7 Donald E. Broadbent, "Division of function and integration of behavior," The Neurosciences: Third Study Program, Massachusetts Institute of technology, 1974. See Appendix 1, G.
B. Timing = Focal-Synchro-Plenum
The standard teaching methods for karate omit exercises that deal specifically with attention, particularly the Plenum and Synchro Modes. The way attention is usually learned, however, can be understood from the above equation (2-1): Concentration of momentum and energy to specific space-time points (Focal Mode) is always practiced, and immediate somatic feedback of this focus is received from each technique. Sparring provides a sure, if not painful, feedback on timing. By studying two of the variables - Timing (the activity) and Focal Mode concentration - you gradually and indirectly learn the third and fourth variables - Plenum Mode awareness of your opponent's space-time region by use of the Synchro Mode.
You will obviously be able to spar better by synchronizing the Focal and Plenum Mode processes efficiently, rather than by trying to consider the multitudinous possibilities of attack (concentrated action) and defense (awareness), anxiously sliding back and forth between the alternative possibilities. The more efficient the patterning (Plenum Mode) and synchronization become, the less conscious you need be of the total activity.
Thinking is covert action and usually interferes with overt motion. In many body disciplines, experts appear to be moving magically without effort, to float, to have an aura about them; this is particularly apparent in such activities as karate and ballet. What they are merely (!) doing is moving spontaneously, which is a single Focal-Synchro-Plenum sequence, instead of effecting Focal-Synchro-Plenum by several journeys between these modes. Each journey to the Focal Mode has its verbal and somatic correlates; these take time to process, and have (almost) subliminal body responses causing lack of spontaneity in the beginner's movements.
The Focal Mode synchronizes with the Plenum Mode in such a way that the functions of the Plenum Mode are narrowed to a certain range of patterns to be admitted. For example, when facing two opponents in karate, the Plenum Mode covers both opponents; then when one opponent attacks, the Plenum Mode is more attentive to that opponent, but still keeps track of the other opponent in the periphery. Again a further focusing of the Plenum Mode may take place when you are specifically blocking or counter-attacking. The somatic '8 (body) attention should center in on the patterns which are being visually, sometimes auditorily, experienced by the Plenum Mode. The focus within the Plenum Mode is much sharper and more directed than the Plenum Mode field. If the somatic attention (Focal Mode) does not focus within the field of the Plenum Mode, the phenomenon of "clumsiness" is observed. For example, to make an effective hit in tennis, the body attention must be honed down to an even smaller volume within the ball that the Plenum Mode (eye) sees.
'8 In the somatic (body) system, there are three subsystems: (1) the interreceptive nervous system going to the viscera; (2) the proprioceptive system going to the skeletal frame; (3) the exteroceptive system pointing to the outside world.
TIME SCALES IN FOCAL-SYNCHRO-PLENUM. The eye normally vibrates about 20 times per second - in movements defined as saccades - to look at several positions of an object to establish accurate details. To ascertain discrete details from a large field, this use of central vision could take many saccades - more time than for a simple reflex to a pattern perceived as a whole. Also, an object's motion is processed more quickly and accurately by the peripheral vision. Thus, optimum reflex time is attained by reacting to peripheral stimuli within several saccades. Stimulus-response time to a real opponent is also determined by the use of visual memory. The storage of long-term memories (on the order of several seconds) depends on the use and synthesis of images; short-term memories (on the order of a second) involve the use of some scheme or strategy - this process is most often used by beginners in karate; representational memory (on the order of tenths of a second or a few seconds) more directly processes the perceived object.'9 This last type of memory, requiring only a few saccades - more properly classified as a sensation seems to be optimum for most physical activity. You can learn to respond directly to a simple pattern of stimuli without going through any logic or strategy involving several journeys through Focal-Synchro-Plenum.
'9 It has been experimentally verified that visual information is processed in several ways simultaneously. A motor response to an incomplete pattern analysis can often be made. See Fehrer & Biedleman, "A Comparison of Reaction Time and Verbal Report in the Detection of Masked Stimuti," in Ulric Neisser, Cognitive Psychology, New York, Appleton, Century, Croft, 1962.
In sparring, where reflexes are on the order of tenths of a second, all good karateists are ambidextrous. The body language of karate, as is true of all languages, needs distance and time in which to communicate, to allow the FocalSynchro-Plenum process to function. However, in practicing kata, against more "perfect" imaginary opponents, a master might find it necessary to be sensitive to time scales on the order of hundredths of a second. The neurophysiological studies observed in Appendix 1 support this time scale as the lowest threshold for communication between the left and right hemispheres, or for a single Focal-Synchro-Plenum process to take place.'10
'10 See footnote 3.
Appendix 5 contains some ISA Problems. These problems illustrate Focal-Synchro-Plenum on the written page, sometimes describing body activity, sometimes representing these processes more abstractly. As part of the mental training of ISA Karate Instructors, they must regularly create such problems.
The interplay of an Affective Mode (emotions, attitudes, etc.) with Focal-Synchro-Plenum, that tempers and modulates these attention states, is necessary to define and explain a complete psychology of the person and of society. Since this greatly enlarged study is not directly related to karate practice, it is left for another book.'11
'11 Lester Ingber, Principles of nature (to be published).
CHAPTER 3
Sensory Nature Applied to Karate
A. Attention Exercises - Body, Visual, Auditory
The following exercises and their obvious generalizations are suggested for practice to increase your familiarity with concentration attention to a point, Focal Mode - and awareness - diffuse attention all over, Plenum Mode - and the ways in which they are integrated Synchro Mode.'1 Examples show how these processes operate in the visual, auditory, and somatic sensory systems.
'1 These Modes were defined and explained in Chapter 2: Focal Mode - Focal adj.: of, relating to, or having a focus. Focal n: a central point at a: a center, activity or attraction, or one drawing the greatest attention or interest; b: a point of concentration or of emanation; c: one aspect or area (of a culture) that is more complex and extensively elaborated than others. Synchro Mode - Synchro - comb. form: synchronized: synchronous. Synchronize vb.: to represent or arrange (events) so as to indicate coincidence or coexistence. Plenum Mode - Plenum adj.: relating to or being a space in which a plenum exists. Plenum n: the entire membership of a specific group; the quality or state of being full.
FOCAL MODE. Somatic concentration of the entire body to a point (the target) is most frequently practiced in karate because it is the essence of "focus." Admittedly, it is one of the hardest exercises to do as it frequently involves an "all-or-nothing" feeling.
Exercise 1
To help separate some of the variables involved, step-in-punch in a straight line towards an opponent who is steadily drifting away, moving from side to side. Keep your eyes fixed on the opponent so that your visual attention is occupied, and try to retain a sense of concentration on the most centered feeling in your hips that you are capable of.
In karate, hip-centeredness is essential to develop strong body techniques as well as to facilitate correct mental activity. You should strive to become aware that your hips, especially as centered about a point midway on the diagonal line that connects the navel to the tailbone, comprise your motor center. Accordingly, as you become more proficient, you will find that your body acquires a "will" of its own, and you won't need to rely on much conscious activity to support its actions. This will free your mind, facilitated by your other sensory systems, to engage in strategy.
Exercise 2
Concentration to a point using the auditory sense also is an "all-or-nothing" matter. You can do a simple exercise to get immediate feedback on whether the process is present. Have your partner count sharply, each count a command to punch while you execute the proper technique. When you are punching, imagine that the sound coming from the voice into your ear takes two neurological paths: One path goes to the brain to tell you that a sound has been received; the other path triggers a body reflex to start the technique. If the exercise is done correctly, you will find yourself moving at the same time you become aware of the sound, not afterwards. Especially if you are a beginner, you will find that you perform the technique more smoothly and dynamically than you did previously - that, indeed, the reaction feels more natural and instinctual.
Exercise 3
Another simple exercise is the visual counterpart of Exercise 2. Two people face each other in front stance, same leg forward, in position to counter-punch in parallel lines to each other's opposite side. Person A counts, and it is prearranged that between two to four heartbeats after this count, Person B counter-punches Person A; at that time, Person A attempts to counter-punch Person B. It is often possible for both people to be counter-punching at the same time. If done correctly, Person A perceives Person B's motion simultaneously as he/she feels his/her own punch for reasons that are similar to the ones given in the auditory exercise above.
PLENUM MODE. In any physical activity it is important to develop a sense of diffuse pattern attention, or awareness, in which complex movements are perceived as whole units. This sense of awareness is essential to attain a mastery of rhythm and timing. The next series of exercises serves to develop such a sense of awareness (Plenum Mode).
Exercise 4
The first exercise is designed to develop a holistic, somatic sense of body rhythm. The best time to begin a technique depends on the demands of the situation. However, there are two optimal states from which the body is best prepared to move. One state, called the neutral, or natural, state is a state of body tonus with a readiness to move in any direction. The major muscle groups are neither fully stretched nor compressed, but are prepared to expand or contract, depending on the need. The other state originates from a state of maximal compression or expansion, typically caused by the completion of a previous technique. For example, from a natural stance, step-in to front-stance and punch with the same hand as the forward leg, and then, using body vibration, counter-punch. If you have achieved enough dynamic power and speed using the methods described so far, you cannot perform the second punch as a simple sequential response to the stimulus of compressed lower-abdominal and hip muscles; it takes a finite amount of time for messages to go back and forth to the brain before the arms can begin to execute the punch. It is too difficult to have one major somatic feeling be the stimulus to immediately trigger another major somatic feeling, and yet follow the pattern of compression/expansion. (This is not the case in the auditory-somatic and visualsomatic concentration exercises above.) By the time the second punch begins, the hips are no longer in a maximum state of compression, and the timing for the punch is ruined; when this occurs, an empty, hollow feeling is experienced under the arm of the punching hand because the arm is not being driven from the expansion following the first punch. Rather than guessing when to start the second punch, it is more educational to treat the two punches as one body rhythm of compression-expansion-compression. (This is the major body feeling experienced by the torso and stance.) Now retain a sense of the total rhythm and attempt to synchronize the actual movements with this rhythm. After a few trials, a patterned sense of body rhythm is realized, and both punches will be driven by power emanating from the motor center.
Exercise 5
Try incorporating the above sense of patterning into the combination: front-snap-kick, step into punch.
The following exercise is designed to teach auditory awareness. If there are multiple stimuli demanding different responses, it is not best to flit back and forth to be ready for the possible alternatives. If you are completely aware of your environment, the alternatives are known well enough, and you can assimilate them into one pattern which admits variations to trigger the required response. Consider a set of four such variations, each variation done to two counts.
Exercise 6
Begin in front stance, left foot forward. A first count - e.g. "one" signals you to bring the back leg up to center (feet close). A second command - e.g. "front" - serves as a stimulus to a specific technique:
"Front" - continue to step-in-punch.
"Back" - step back and counter-punch (right hand).
"Left" - step back to the right side and counter-punch to the left side.
"Right" - step to the right side, back-fist strike-snap (right hand).
Learn these techniques first by becoming able to respond to "front," for example, as a sound before becoming aware of "front" as a meaningful word (Exercise 2). Conscious awareness of the word as an intellectual command should not trigger the technique. Now react correctly as your partner first counts "one," and then randomly commands one of the above four techniques. Your best reactions occur when treating all four possibilities as one pattern.
Exercise 7
Another auditory-pattern exercise is to react to the command "punch" or "kick." Have a partner give you either the command "punch" or "kick" as he/she chooses, alternating or repeating them in succession, so that you do not know which one is coming. It is best to give about three successive commands, each one triggering a successive technique:
punch punch punch or + or + or kick kick kick
Best reactions are obtained by having the hip-center react to the command as if it were a variation of the single pattern comprising both possible commands. Interpret the command "punch" or "kick" by allowing the power to travel from the hip-center through your leg or arm, respectively. If instead of centering this power, your attention flits back and forth between an arm and leg, your body will not be maximally primed to do the required technique.
Exercise 8
An exercise that requires responses to visual patterns begins with both sides facing each other, each with the right leg forward, in front-stance. One side, by agreement, starts the exercise by executing a step-in-punch to the face. The other side steps back and up-blocks. Then one possibility allows either side to take a chance and counter-punch with the right hand to the face or stomach. If one side succeeds, the exercise is over. (If both sides attack at the same time, it is not a draw; both sides obviously lose!) Another possibility is for one side to block the other's attack to face or stomach with the left hand, and then, if successful, to counter-attack and win. These alternatives drive the opponents to heightened states of awareness.
Exercise 9
One of the best visual-pattern exercises requires five people who have
all practiced the first form, Heian one. (See Appendix 3.) Four
opponents face the center defender (Figure 3-1).
Each of the five
follows the tempo of the kata, the center person reacting to the other
opponents by blocking or attacking. Each attacker must attack or block
according to the tempo of the form, but may punch to the face or
stomach, or even front-kick to the stomach, when it is his/her turn to
attack. Although this exercise requires a balance of
somaticcenteredness and visual-pattern attention, all members should
concern themselves primarily with moving to the rhythm and tempo of the
form.
[Figure 3-1]
Many other exercises illustrate the interplay of concentration and awareness using sensory mechanisms to facilitate the processes:
Exercise 10
While you step-in-punch to a point in space, step back, and then step-in-punch to the same point in space, your opponent moves along your left side. Although you keep your eyes straight ahead, your peripheral visual sense remains occupied with the motion of your opponent. You retain a sense of your first target, selected by the first punch, by projecting your proprioceptive sense (awareness of limb and internal organ posit ' ions) to feel contact with the target point. This point in space is touched with the second punch, using a feeling similar to that when touching you
