This is an art form that involves the mind and spirit as much as the body. All three must develop simultaneously for the practitioner to truly master this sport. While the body must remember how to move, the mind, in turn, must remember how to be still. All of the martial arts begin and end with courtesy. There is very little that is selfish about karate. It is believed that in your devotion there is reward.
There are different types of Karate. You’ll find different stances are traditional depending on which type you’re practicing. Most types of karate have some variation of the following three stances:[6] X Research source The natural, or walking stance (shizentai-dachi) is when your front foot is pointing forward, back foot is out at a 45-degree angle pointing behind you. Your feet are apart at a natural, or walking, width. The front stance (zenkutsu-dachi) is like the natural stance, but your feet are further apart and your weight is mostly on your front leg. Cat stance, or back stance (nekoashi-dachi). Your foot positioning is like the walking stance, but your weight is mostly on your back leg. Your front heel, if you so choose, may be raised.
The ready stance in the Fukyugata series has the heels together and toes pointing outward at a 60-degree angle. The ready stance in the Pinan series has the feet at shoulder width, toes pointing outward at a 45-degree angle. The ready stance in the Naihanchi series has the feet directly together and parallel.
Always think about your center gravity. If you spread your feet, you lower it, proving yourself stability and more bang for your attack. But if you lower it too much, you lose mobility and speed. When it comes to balance, there is a happy medium you need to find. While having balance is important, when you start having to defend yourself, you’ll need to be able to shift that balance quite quickly as well. If you’re in one stance too long, your opponent can easily attack you! Because of this, transitions between stances are important too.
The two are highly connected. A longer route to your target will help you develop more speed and thus power. If you use your entire body, you will have more power behind your attack, and necessarily employ more speed. However, think of karate not as being able to move a large object, but being able to move a small object quickly and with detailed precision.
Blocking is just as important! Practice blocking as though these were the punches you were being attacked with. Experiment with combinations and counter attacks. Defend, attack, defend, attack. . . etc. For the record, your first two knuckles are the strongest knuckles on your hand. They can be lined up with your forearm bones (radius and ulna) to increase strength. The most common mistakes are when people have a crooked fist, punch too high or punch with their shoulder.
There are five basic karate kicks: The front snap kick. Basically, think of your foot swinging out in front of you like you’re snapping a towel. In natural stance, you draw up your back foot, bend at the knee, and snap (hence the name) your leg out in front of you and draw it immediately back to where it was. The side snap kick. The same as the front snap kick. . . only to the side. The side trust kick. Lift your kicking foot to your opposite knee, kick, and roll your hip forward. In the snap kicks, your torso stays upright. In trust kicks, your torso falls more in line with your kicking leg, coming down to power your kicking leg upward. The guy in the gif above is doing a trust kick. See how his torso comes down? The back trust kick. Like the side trust kick, but you’re looking behind you and kicking in the same direction as you’re looking. The round kick. In cat stance, pull your kicking leg up toward the same elbow. Swing your hips forward and pivot, creating the “round” in the round kick. Then snap it back as quickly as possible.
Be sure to revisit it once you do have it! After you master several, piece them together and work on increasingly difficult combinations as the days progress.
