Posts tagged Martial Arts
Ways to Practice Kata
Dec 4th
Kata, the formal exercises of karate, are central to this art. Kata are patterns of movement that are passed down through the centuries and are practiced by all students of the martial arts, particularly karate. These forms contain all of the punches, kicks, strikes, and all other moves that make up the art of karate.
In one main style, Shotokan, there are 25 kata. They range from farily simple “forms” to very complex ones, containing up to 65 or 70 moves. The first, and most important thing is to practice the kata enough so that you have attained a “muscle memory” of them- that is, you do not have to think about what you are doing. That means that you will have practiced that kata hundreds, if not thousands of times. Each kata has a particular rhythmn, and cadence/pace. Some katas accent strength, whereas others stress graceful form and movements. An example in Shotokan is jion- for strength, and the kata, Gankaku- for grace and poise.
After you have mastered the movements and pace of a kata, here are some things that you can do to make it all more interesting- and better:
1) practice your kata at a faster pace- possibly very fast- that is, “blow through it”.. You should find this exhausting;
2) Practice the kata at a very SLOW pace- accenting each move with super-fastidiousness- make each move seem like it’s the whole kata;
3)practice the kata using hand weights and also, if available, leg weights. Make sure not to overextend your joints- that is, take care, when using weights as add ons, not to strain your joints.
Doing any or all three of the above 3 variations will make your kata practice go to a new level- and it will give you the variety that you may want to make it all more interesting. You will also get faster, stronger, and just better.
Finally, you may want to consider creating your own, personal kata- one that reflects your particular likes and dislikes- and your personal strengths and weaknesses. You may want, for example, to create a kata that accents kicking. Or one that stresses movement- sidestepping, or other such concepts. Creating a good kata is not easy- but it can be a lot of fun- and it will make you think about karate- and what it takes to make something that you can call your own- and that is the essence of any art. Of course, to create your own kata, you should be at a very good level- at least brown belt or above. This will help to ensure that you already have a very good grasp as to what kata- and karate- are all about. But, if you are at or near that level- don’t be afraid to create your own kata- it will help you to think about what aspects of karate you most favor- and it will make everything more interesting for you- and that is very important for your karate future.
What is the Ki in Aikido?
Sep 15th
The basic theory behind Aikido is the use of ki. But what is ki and how can it be used in our lives? Most if not all martial arts depend upon strength, agility, timing, and speed. These are usually channeled through some sort of technique such as punching, kicking, blocking, dodging and so on. But what about Aikido?
In Aikido we initially do some sort of basic training such as taking a fall and reversing directions to meet oncoming attackers. But this all a prelude to developing an almost 6th sense in reading our opponents muscle tense and channeling it in a direction that will not allow them to cause us bodily harm and at the same time stopping the attack.
We learn to read our opponents bodily intentions and can easily intuit when and where they will strike and the best way to defend against it. This mind reading as some call it, is tapping into the bio electric energy of the universe. Once one learns to sense his own and others ki we can easily avoid confrontation.
Although this ki sense was originally developed for fighting one can also use it to heal both physical and mental problems by letting the ki work on our minds and bodies.
This is a very deep subject and may require some form of meditation to understand. The type of meditation here is not head oriented but rather concentrating on the hara which is the region between our navel and our sexual organ. Focusing on this area can give one a very stable grounded feeling. Once we feel the ki in our hara we can then channel it throughout our body and even into other people and things.
