Secrets of Shotokan Karate. Robin L. Rielly

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СКАЧАТЬ and Response

      All of fighting may be viewed as a process of stimulus and response. This is a relatively simple concept to understand, even for the layman. As it relates to karate, it involves the tendency of an individual to respond to actions not initiated by himself. In other words, when attacked, an individual responds by defending himself. The attack is the stimulus and the defense the response. Consequently, it follows that training should attempt to reinforce and develop, as much as possible, the ability of the individual to respond to outside stimuli. While sparring drills demand such a reaction, there are still other methods of training that will benefit the student in this regard.

      Formal karate training usually takes place in a class atmosphere, with the instructor giving commands and instruction, and then counting as the students perform each exercise. Many fail to realize that this is the perfect time to train the stimulus-response process. The voice of the instructor may be viewed as the stimulus, and the student’s individual movement in the course of training is the response to it.

      Students begin each drill in the zanshin, or ready, position. At the command kamae-te from the instructor, they are supposed to shift forward into a downward blocking position. Beginners frequently have to be told to recover their ready position and begin again, moving more quickly than the first time. Some think the instructor simply wants them to move faster, but what is desired is that they accelerate their response to the instructor’s voice stimulus.

      Basic training requires the student to march back and forth, punching, kicking, and blocking at the air, and it is necessary to train the stimulus-response process against a voice command, since there is no actual opponent. Students are told by the instructor to imagine an opponent in front of them at all times. By doing this, students benefit from training more than if they don’t “see” an opponent at all. Such concentration on an imaginary opponent makes the practice of techniques much more realistic, and the students actually put more into and receive more from their training. The voice command of the instructor, coupled with the imaginary opponent visualized by the student, provides the necessary stimulus for valuable training to take place. Therefore, it is necessary for the student to listen closely for the instructor’s count, and to immediately execute the next technique when he hears the count. This will aid in later sparring practice, since the stimulus-response ability has been developed in basic training.

      In sparring drills, the use of stimulus and response is simple to practice. All the basic sparring drills are centered around the proper response to an attack, whether it be shifting, dodging, or blocking and countering the attack. Once this ability has been mastered through basic training and sparring drills, the responses of the fighter in free sparring will be automatic. Thus it is necessary to practice basic sparring drills continually, in order to develop automatic responses. Those who simply train in free-sparring and neglect the myriad of drills available to them will not be able to reach their full potential as fighters.

      Stimulus and response training is also possible in kata, except that it is much more difficult. If an instructor is counting as the student performs each move in the kata, then the voice may be used as stimulus. However, in the free performance of kata, the practitioner must create the stimulus in his or her own mind by imagining an attack and responding to it. This stimulus and response reaction is extremely difficult to attain in the early stages of training. When such a stage is reached in kata practice, performers truly feel the presence of attackers and their concentration is so developed that they will find it easy to sense the attacks of actual opponents. This is one of the reasons why karate practitioners in the past spent so much time in the practice of a single kata. It enabled them to devote full concentration to each movement and develop the ability to provide their own stimulus to which they could respond.

      Kime

      Kime, or focus, is the prime ingredient in the generation of force in karate techniques. It is a combination of physical and psychological factors resulting in maximum power in karate blocks, kicks, punches, and strikes. Kime is achieved by instantaneously tensing the muscles of the entire body for a split second at the moment of impact. This tension should be coordinated with a sharp exhalation of air and total mental concentration on the area of impact at the moment contact is made with the opponent.

      In general, kime lasts only a fraction of a second, since to hold tension in the body past the instant of contact with a target area would not add to the force generated. In addition, such tension would slow down the transition to the next move.

      Kiai

      The kiai, or spirited yell, is usually performed as a technique is executed. If done properly, the kiai will add force to the technique. Unlike most sounds human beings make, the kiai is not generated in the throat, but rather in the lower abdomen. It is usually performed by tensing the stomach muscles while sharply exhaling. The sound that is heard should be “eh,” “yah,” or “to.” It is a monosyllabic grunt, rather than a word.

      For combat purposes, the kiai serves three functions. First of all, a loud noise, properly made, will startle an opponent and possibly create an opening in his defenses. Second, it will give a psychological lift to the performer, helping to build his spirit. Last, the kiai requires that the breath be exhaled and the stomach muscles tensed, adding force to a technique or preparing the body to absorb a blow from an opponent.

      Plate 3 The author assists Master Masatoshi Nakayama as he demonstrates the rising block. Master Teruyuki Okazaki looks on.

      CHAPTER TWO

      Principles of Physical Movement

      Natural Body Movement

      One of the major problems that many karate practitioners have is overcoming awkward movement as they perform karate techniques. In many cases awkward movement is the direct result of a failure to follow the natural movement of the body.

      Our muscles are trained daily to operate in an efficient manner that makes it possible to walk and perform a number of physical tasks effectively and with a minimum expenditure of energy. Such movements usually are smooth and effortless, since the body is used to them. In the practice of karate techniques, in fact in all physical endeavors, adherence to these normal patterns of movement is necessary in order to perform at our best.

      Let us consider the natural movement of the body as it walks forward (See Figures 1-4). As seen from the front, the normal position of the body is one in which it is balanced evenly on both feet and held erect, with the feet about the same width apart as the shoulders (Fig. 1). СКАЧАТЬ